One beautiful summer day last year enjoying time around the pool, my longtime friend LeeAnn chimed in to add to my growing 60 x 60 list: “How ‘bout a polar bear plunge? I’ll do it with you!” (This from a woman who carries a sweater in August in the event the temperature dips below 90.) Still, I believed her.
In January 2019 I began to research upcoming plunges. I decided on the Town of Oyster Bay Polar Plunge because it benefits the Special Olympics, an organization dear to my heart. I have a beautiful nephew with Downs Syndrome who is a Special Olympic athlete. I also volunteered years ago at our high school for a day of competition and I was blown away by the excitement, focus and pride of the athletes.
So having found my plunge, I informed LeeAnn of the date and told her to register online to join me on team WBLI. Surprisingly she balked, but I was in. I did my due diligence and hit up all my friends and family for money. Thanks to the wonderful people in my life, I raised over $1700 – the second highest amount for my team behind captain and WBLI DJ Andrew Sykora (Syke on Air). So that was awesome. I did such a good thing. I felt so proud. But there was one thing left…
On the morning of March 16th with June and Craig in tow and wearing a bathing suit under layers of clothes, we headed down the neverending Ocean Parkway en route to Tobay Beach. Suddenly I was regretting this with every ounce of my being. With the temperature in the mid 40’s and the windchill way below that, I signed in, learned they weren’t aware of anyone actually dying during the plunge (weren’t AWARE!) and went to meet my team captain. Syke was wonderful. He applauded my fundraising, took some photos and convinced me I wasn’t going to die AND I got a great big surprise when I saw my friends Jill and Jeanne come to support me!
Then came the actual plunge. Stripping out of my toasty clothes I donned a bright pink tutu and sparkly mask (of course) and trotted my sorry butt into the frigid Great South Bay. As luck would have it, the tide was WAY low and the plunge was more of a splash, but I wasn’t complaining. I did the “old lady” splash, got myself sufficiently wet and exited quickly. Done!
Suggested by LeeAnn Tocci
Completed 3/16/19