Anyone who knows me knows I speak from my heart. I just wanted to share a very touching story that moved me last week at church. Every week I see this mother and her two teenage boys at mass. Everything appears normal but as the mass goes on I realize that one of her sons is autistic.  He constantly holds her, moves around, makes noises, etc. and she never seems to be bothered it by it. And by the grace of God, nor are the people around them. When it's time to give the sign of peace, the young man that is clearly autistic first hugs his mother, then his brother, and at last himself. That's when I fully understood what it means to have an autistic child. Her unconditional love for those two boys is undeniable and unwavering. At that time I did shed a few tears for her, but for the strength this mother has to muster and Endure everyday for her son I had such admiration for her. I'm not sure I could maintain as an amazing decorum as she does day in and day out.  I know we all have a story like this to tell. But for me it was an "aha moment". I also know that I cannot help this young man but perhaps someone else's child down the road even perhaps someone near and dear to my own heart. We only have a few weeks before "Thelma and Louise" embark on their ambitious crazy journey to help raise awareness and funding for autism research via the Eagles autism awareness 5k. I, Thelma aka Stephanie, only need $50 more to reach my goal but my partner in crime, Louise aka Julie needs $145 in order to reach our goal of $500 as a team. We want to give a big hug to everyone who has donated so far to this worthy cause. We love you. I truly feel in my heart that were you all present at mass with me that day perhaps even the autistic young man would have given each of you a hug of thanks as well as he gave the sign of peace.  You can find the link to donate at the bottom of this post. Thank you sincerely in advance for your gift of support.