Friends Across The Miles: Helping Babies Like Maddie Spohr

When I met Sam last October, we had already been reading each other's blogs for years.  Meeting in person was easy and real, and as we traveled across the border to attend BlogHer Boston, we settled into conversations about our kids and marriages, deep discussions about our pasts, and shared a lot of laughter over the miles of highway.

Since then, Sam and I have worked together on our joint baby, Craftastrophe.net, and also worked together on web design projects for each other's clients. 

Much like when I met my husband, getting to know Sam has made me fall in love with her over and over.  The more I get to know this wonderful woman, the more I realize just how lucky I am to have a friend in her.  She is the sweetest, most open-hearted person I think I've ever met, and now more than ever she has proved to be the most generous as well.

As I wrote on Craftastrophe today:

...she might smack me for writing this, but in the days following Maddie’s unexpected death, Heather’s website was crushed by the traffic.  Sam took hours and hours to work on the problem and move Heather’s site to a more secure server for the time being. Further to that, Sam created yet another site for Heather & Mike to work toward helping other families in Maddie’s name. I know, Sam is practically an angel and I love her to pieces. How could you not?

Both of us have donated money both to Mike & Heather and to the March of Dimes, but we wanted to do more.

This weekend, Sam and I embark on another road trip.  This time, it's bittersweet.  The two of us are traveling to Casey's home, to walk alongside her in support of the March of Dimes for Maddie Spohr.

I wish Heather and Mike did not know the pain of losing their daughter.  I wish I could take it all away with this road trip.  Maybe by raising money with this road trip, Sam and I (and many others) can prevent this from happening to someone else's family.

As Sam and I sit and plan this trip in my livingroom, it occurs to me that I wouldn't know a friendship like this had it not been for blogging.  Heather herself has said this community is what got her through Maddie's beginnings.

It's a beautiful thing to be a part of.

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If you want to donate to Sam's or my walk, please do!  Even a dollar!

To join a walk for Maddie (U.S. only I think), you can do that, here.