Meet Charlie.                 Charlie is the son of Casey and Maria Parker.  They are dear friends of mine and wonderful people.  Charlie has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  You can read more about Charlie here. 

 

Charlie is trying to raise funds to get a service dog.  They are quite costly, but very beneficial in a number of ways.  There was a fundraiser last Saturday to help Charlie get his new buddy.  We wouldn't have missed it for the world!

 

This is Maria and Charlie getting everyone ready for the 5K. 

 

Sadie and I wanted to run/walk in the 5K, but Larry was helping Casey cook chicken for the plate dinners, so we took Molly along with us.  I decided that Molly and I would walk until she got tired or bored and we will pull out of the race.  So, all three of us registered for the race.

So we lined up at the start line and away the runners went.  Sadie left us, along with everyone else, really quick.  Molly and I just trotted behind at a snails pace.  Molly was loving being able to walk in the middle of the road.  She loved the freedom of just walking.  We just walked and talked and sang songs.  It was like she knew she was doing something.  She would yell, "Run!" and we would run for a couple of seconds.  She would laugh really hard and then yell, "Walk!"  So we would walk for a while.  I didn't expect it to last very long.  Boy was I wrong! 

 

There was a turn around mark at about a mile and a half and there was a guy on a Polaris that made trips back and forth, so I knew we were okay if she gave out of me.  She got way excited when the runners started coming back and we were meeting them.  She talked to every one of them that came by us.  She got wrapped up in all of that and the little kids on the side of the road handing out water.  It was such a treat for her. 

I never thought that she would make it as far as she did, but we made it all the way to the turn around mark.  I think she would have walked all the way back, but I knew everyone would be waiting on us and there were other festivities that were going on.  We caught a ride back, and we crossed the finish line anyway. 

Sadie finished in 2nd place in her age division.  She impressed me and even herself. 

We then headed to the fairgrounds for a dog show, silent auctions, and dunkin' booth.  They had pony rides...

and barrel rides.

We hope Charlie gets enough funds to get his service dog.  We love Charlie and love his parents and little sister!!