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On April 25th, I will join local Tampa area bloggers and friends of the Spohrs to walk in the memory of their daughter Maddie. Maddie passed away unexpectedly on April 7th after a miraculous life with her family.

If you’ve been reading along in these parts recently, you’ll know that Maddie’s passing this week has moved me deeply. Her death rang through the entire parent blogging community, in fact. Every parent who knew her story and then heard about her passing seemed to stop, mourn and then react. At this point, over $25,000 has been raised in Maddie’s honor for the March of Dimes. And currently, a fund is being put together to help sponsor the funeral expenses which are expected to cost over $7,000. (Donations for funeral expenses can be sent to a paypal account at formaddie@hotmomreviews.com)

Money raised for the March of Dimes will help:

• support all-important research offering preventions and solutions for babies born too soon or with birth defects

• educate women on things they can do to increase their chances of having a healthy baby

• provide comfort and information to families with a newborn in intensive care

• push for newborn screening and health insurance for all pregnant women and children

If you would like to learn more about Maddie, I would encourage you to visit the March for Maddie website. And please view the slide show below. Thanks to the March of Dimes, Maddie was a bright and shining light in her parents’ lives for 17 months. What a very special gift she was.

Finally, please consider passing on my post to others (tweeting, stumbling, sharing on facebook, however you feel comfortable spreading the word) and encourage your friends to sponsor our walk for Maddie on April 25th. Every little bit helps. Imagine if every person who viewed this post donated even just one dollar? What a fabulous start to this walk we would have.

Thanks so much for your consideration. And here’s Maddie…

Last night curled under a blanket, my husband and I sat and watched the stunning footage of flight 1549 bob in the Hudson. While watching smiling passengers step off the ferries that rescued each and every one of them, my husband said something to me.

“Its a strange karma, symbolic thing, don’t you think?”

“How do you mean?”

“In Bush’s first year as President, we witnessed the worst plane catastrophe in history. And now… we are witnessing the most miraculous plane catastrophe in history, happening only hours before Bush says his final farewells to the public.”

I looked at him. “Wow. You’re right.” He absolutely had a point.

I don’t cry at the drop of a hat usually but everytime I see yesterday’s plane footage, I feel tears threaten. And I know that this entire country has been awed by this miracle, we are all equally emotional. But it seems to represent some level of hope for me also. It seems as if a message is being sent. It seems the impossible can happen. We can survive this mess.

And as for Bush’s farewell, seeing him go is simply anti-climactic. I thought I would cheer the day. I thought I would be over the moon. But I’m not. I am left puzzeled by his rationalizing, heroic “I made the tough choices, even if they weren’t the popular choices” sense of self. Honestly, he seems sadly delusional. If he really believes he did right by us, well, there is nothing left to say. Except, “Goodbye”.

Tuesday will represent the beginning of a new era for this country. But do I expect Obama to stand in front of the nation, tap his magic wand on day one and make everything all better? Hell no. I am worried for him. Really worried. And I am concerned about all the hope we have inside us. I know that he is an amazing leader, but this situation our country finds itself in could be an impossibility for any leader.

And yet, yesterday, everyone got out of that plane. Everyone, including one infant, is alive today. The impossible happened.

So this morning, I am taking a deep breath, I am watching out the window of my television as our nation dips and bobs over its troubles. I am holding my family close. And I will brace myself. But flight 1549 has inspired me. Just as our President elect has. It seems the impossible can happen and perhaps there will be a way out. So here I sit, clinging desperately onto a concept which has kept this country afloat before. That perplexing and amazing concept called: hope.