Walk

I've written before about Mike and Heather's beautiful Maddie, who passed away unexpectedly a little over a month ago. Maddie was just 17 months old and was lost far too soon.

After her passing, teams for the upcoming March of Dimes March for Babies walks came up all over the country in honor of Maddie. Houston had a team organized by Greis. I quickly signed up, only to later discover that I had a prior commitment that I could not get out of - I was not going to be able to walk with the Houston Maddie Team.

I had already raised some money for the March of Dimes thanks to generous donations from friends, so I was determined to meet my goal. I may not have been able to March for Maddie downtown, but I wanted to support the March of Dimes. I decided I would go on my own walk in honor of Maddie.

That Sunday afternoon, after Greis, Natalie and the rest of the Houston team had finished their walk downtown, I set out on a three mile walk at my local park.



During my walk, I thought about and prayed for the Spohrs. I reflected on what I had learned from Heather, Mike and Maddie... I want to live each day fully, like Maddie did. During my walk, I saw many things that reminded me of the beautiful girl with the bright eyes. Purple, the March of Dimes color, and the color chosen by the Spohrs to honor Maddie, popped up in unexpected places.


(forgive the awful quality- it was taken with my iPhone)

I also spotted a rock in the shape of a heart, that reminded my reason for doing all of this: Heather and Mike's love for their girl, my love for Maddie and the Spohrs, and Maddie's love for life.





Man, it was hot in Houston that Sunday, but it meant a lot to me to walk to remember and honor Maddie. I had a good reason to get this hot and sweaty!



I'm a few weeks late posting this, but the sentiments remain the same. My heart aches for Heather and Mike's loss. My heart smiles with the memories of the little girl with the bright eyes.



Remembering Maddie. xoxo