Alliance for Catholic Education
“Come on in, the water’s great!” I shout as I splash around in the choppy lake quite conveniently located only two minutes from our convent. “No really, it’s way warmer than I expected!” I call out, trying to encourage my two community members still standing on the beach to join me in the water. I’m smiling.
Marcello comes barreling in and plunges himself into the waves not unlike the way a happy puppy would jump in a lake. We’re both smiling.
Catherine is still eyeing me doubtfully, unconvinced. Either she can read the devious nature of my smile that I’m unsuccessfully hiding, or, more likely, she is fully aware that everything I say is a flat-out lie: it’s November. The lake in question is Lake Erie. We are in Cleveland, Ohio. The water is startlingly, take-your-breath-away cold.
And yet, seconds later, Catherine joins our late autumn dip, swiftly submerging herself in Erie’s evening chill. For a moment, before we all quickly exit for the warm embrace of our beach towels, there we are: half standing, half floating, in-between worlds, in-between realms, three community members sharing a moment of refreshing rejuvenation, of cleansing by creation, of bonding by baptism. The water is oh-so-cold. But the company is oh-so-warm.
These more-than-weekly jumps in the lake have become almost ritual for Marcello and me and whoever else from our community happens to join. On the hard days, they are a welcome reset, a way to wash away the challenges of the day. On the good days, they are a joyful celebration, a way to revel in a day gone well. On all days, they are an opportunity to bask in gratitude, giving thanks for another day lived, the lessons learned, the triumphs achieved, and a moment of stillness and oneness with creation.
These dips in the lake are among the things for which I am most thankful as a member of ACE, and in many ways, they embody the spirit of an ACE community for which so many are grateful. For what is an ACE community but a group of random-people-turned-close-friends with whom to do really hard, fun, weird, meaningful things? In this season of gratitude (which coincides with one of the most difficult stretches of the school year), I am especially thankful that I can share so many formative (and cold) experiences with people I deeply care about.
My favorite author, Robin Wall Kimmerer, writes that, “Our first responsibility, the most potent offering we possess, is gratitude.” Life in an ACE community nourishes gratitude, for relationships with others—especially others who understand many of the challenges we face on a daily basis—multiply our opportunities to express and receive it.
Gratitude is jumping in a cold lake when you’d rather stay warm, like Catherine. Gratitude is coming to the beach in the rain, even though you’re not going to jump in and you’d rather stay dry, like Grace. Gratitude is leaving uplifting sticky notes around the house, like Ashley. Gratitude is texting an early-morning “YOU ROCK” meme, like Kristen. Gratitude is washing other people’s dishes, like Marcello.
Gratitude most authentically practiced in an ACE community is relishing the opportunity to share experiences with others, not because you think the experiences are fun (some certainly are, many others certainly aren’t) but because you get to share them with people you care about.
This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for a community that relishes one another—and for community members who will jump in the lake. In November.