Tag Archives: Hospicare

Women Swimmin’ 2013

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At first light on Saturday, August 10th, 2013, over three hundred women jumped into Cayuga Lake to make a difference, and commemorate loved ones gone too soon. The 10th annual Women Swimmin’ for Hospicare was held at the Ithaca Yacht Club on Cayuga Lake. The event is a community swim (not a race!) of over three hundred women that are challenged to swim across the lake with a brigade of kayak escorts.

This year, over three hundred ladies (including myself) raised more than $390,000 for Hospicare! Our tattoo shop, The Hand of Fate Tattoo Parlor, raised $510 dollars toward my still going total of $1345! Hospice is such a great cause, and a necessary community service that has touched us all. My family thanks you for what you do, for every patient and their families you help.

THANK YOU to all of our family, friends, and clients that supported our efforts. THANK YOU to my loving husband Eddie, who was my trainer and kayak escort across Cayuga Lake at dawn. Best feeling-jumping off the Columbia and into the lake and sunshine, swimming towards his boat. No words, just happy! (Also avoided a lot of lake debris from the day before of flooding rains. Lots of branches and murky water!) The shore markers looked far away, but the swim was over in a flash.

It was a beautiful morning, full of joy, tears, and loving hearts full of support-and lots of hugs for all of the women swimmin’! I know my mom is proud, she blessed me with a wonderful experience, and I can’t wait to do it next year!

Links:
Women Swimmin’ 2013

The Hand of Fate Tattoo Parlor

Women Swimmin’ has a new mermaid!

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I lost my mom to renal cancer less than two months prior to relocating to Ithaca. That was August of 2007. She was my best friend, cheerleader, and support. My life goal as a kid was to be a mermaid; a dream that mom supported whole-heartedly, spending hours at our local YMCA pool, and on the ‘beach’ at countless public lake parks, watching me hold my breath and retrieve rings from the depths of ten feet. I was blessed years later to find a man that would also lend total support to any of my ventures. My mom gave her approval and told me this is the one I would be with forever (very handsome, twinkle in the eye, reminded her a bit of dad….except for those damn tattoos), and she left us after a short but nasty fight before her 61st birthday. I’ve missed her every single day, from sunny mornings to the day of our wedding.

This year, in August, I’ll be swimming across Cayuga Lake, with 349 other women, to raise money for Hospicare and honor my mom’s life and battle. I so excited to be a swimmer in the 10th Annual Women Swimmin for Hospicare! I’ll be marking my progress along the way, and you can pledge $$ to support a great cause here: Women Swimmin Demetra Molina

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