On Maddie’s last night, I sat in a chair next to her bed. The PICU didn’t allow beds for the parents to sleep in. Yeah, I know, we’ll just all take a moment to acknowledge how stupid that is and then move on…..OK. The PICU staff was very nice, and offered to bring over a TV/VCR so I could play videos to entertain Maddie. Their video stock was vast, and I picked a couple of my favorites. First we watched “The Wizard of Oz.” I sang along to all the songs. Every now and then she’d open her eyes to look at me, and then the TV screen. After TWOO was over, I popped in “Mary Poppins.” I sang along with every song in that movie as well, but when the song “I Love To Laugh” came on, I added a little commentary.

“Maddie Moo, this song could totally be about you, me, and Daddy. We all love to laugh. All we do is laugh every day!”

Maddie had the BEST laugh. It started as giggles and hiccups, and evolved into full-fledged laughter. It was impossible to be in the presence of her laughter and not, in turn, laugh yourself.


if you can’t see the video above, click here

Even when I am in my most down moments, her laugh is music to my ears.