This is an easy post to write.  It’s simple and to the point and it says THANK YOU to all of you for helping me reach my fundraising goal.  As I wrote here, I am racing IronMan Florida to honor my father who has been living with Parkinson’s disease for the last ten years.  I committed to raise $3,400 to the National Parkinson Foundation which provides support for patients, families and research to find a cure.

All of you were so generous in so many ways, it’s humbling to receive that support and be responsible for delivering on my promise. My dad, the foundation, and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

My readers, friends, teammates and family really came through.  Several of you wrote to say how you had a loved one with Parkinson too, and now we know we have yet another thing in common.  I am especially grateful to my sister Elena, who kept posting and reposting on her facebook page and whose awesome group of friends began chipping in.  Note to self – if I ever need to fundraise again, hit eldest sister first. Her friends don’t know me from Adam, but to support her and those suffering from Parkinson they donated to the fund.

When I told Elena we were close to reaching the goal  she said we should continue going.  On email, our conversation went like this:

Elena: “Now we need to keep going and set another goal.”

Me: “This part of “we” is done setting goals for 2013.”

Elena: “LOL. I meant fundraising goal.”

Me: “I meant ANY goal!”

But I am stubborn, and I don’t quit and so of course I thought: why not increase the goal?  There is enough time, I believe in the cause, and it’s important.  I didn’t want to up the ante too much because I don’t want to add another stress to my already stressed out life so I raised the amount from $3,400 to $4,400. We have $1,000 to go and five weeks to do it. We will get there. Here’s how:

You can donate directly to the fund:

Or purchase the TriathlonMami collection items customized by See Me In The Dark (50% of all sales go to the National Parkinson Foundation)

And when I am struggling on November 2, I will think of all of you who donated, of my dad, and all of those who also suffer from Parkinson’s disease and carry on.  If my body is physically able to move I will not give up – much like my father hasn’t given in to his disease for the past ten years.

Thank you for your generous support.