American Red Cross rejected me, and I cried.

American Red Cross rejected me, and I cried.

Last month I decided to join my husband and sign up to donate blood.

He’s done it regularly for years, and I was always ‘too busy’ to fill out the paperwork.

I was happy that I felt healthy and strong, and finally ready to give back.

But when I got to the donation center, I was pulled aside, and handed a note—I am permanently ineligible to donate—because of a rare form of lymphoma I had 20 years ago.

I didn’t expect the rejection to hit me so hard.

I cried in the car.

Not out of anger. Not even sadness. Just… a wave of realization.

That something I thought was behind me, is still with me.

When I was diagnosed with Marginal Zone B-Cell Lymphoma 20 years ago, that chapter made me much more intentional about designing my life, and reflecting more on what truly matters.

I thought I had learned my lessons. I thought I'd moved on.

But this quiet rejection was a harsh reminder: some things don’t ever fully leave us. Even when we’ve healed.

Instead of trying so hard to move on from things, maybe it’s really about learning to move with.

I can’t ‘move on’ like it never happened. But I can move forward—acknowledging the impact it had on me… without letting it define me.

I now resonate even more with what I often advise others:

Growth isn’t always about leaving the past behind. Sometimes, it’s about making peace with what stays.

💭 What’s a part of your story you’ve tried to leave behind—but still shapes who you are?