“You are never going to have this community again in your life. You may be together again in the future, but you’ll never be in this place, living together, working together, and learning from each other like you can now.”
This quote from our beloved Sr. Anne always sticks with me when I reflect on community. When I first heard it in January when she welcomed us back from our Christmas break and reminded us how little time we had left in the program I wanted to cry–I was already not prepared for this experience to end soon. And although this spring has flown by just as fast as she said it would (I still cannot believe we’re in the middle of April), this quote has given me a lot of comfort. Yes we will never have this community again, but that’s why it is so important to make the most of this time together.
Our Wexford community has undergone quite the change since my last blog post for St. Brigid’s Day when our long-awaited community member got her preclearance to join us for the remainder of the year! Having our full community here has been a blessing, and we have learned so much from each other just in the two months we’ve all been together. It hasn’t always been easy, and sometimes living in an intentional community means recognizing your own shortcomings, and working with your community to find ways to improve. I’ve learned that I can be resistant to change, and sometimes my own feelings and imposter syndrome can stand in the way of me entering into my community with an open heart and mind. Even in those moments when I felt “not good enough,” envied another’s musical talents, or wished that I had someone’s same devotion to their faith, I was still loved as a member of this community. Living in an intentional community is loving and accepting each other as they are. Learning this lesson has really blossomed my community life and together we continue to work towards creating the best community that we can while we still have it.
Our House of Brigid community doesn’t just stop with the four of us here in Wexford, but it also includes our four friends up in Dublin. We spent the past week in community with them showing off the beautiful scenery and charm of Co. Wexford and having a retreat together in Ballyvaloo. In just a few days, I feel like I grew closer to each member of that house in unique and beautiful ways. Now that we’re connected as a House of Brigid community, I’m looking forward to the ways in which we will support each other in our final months together in Ireland.
While I’m reflecting on community, I wanted to take the opportunity to share a few lessons I’ve learned from another community-the Wexford Light Opera Society. With encouragement from HoB and WLOS alum Kelly Burke, I connected with their former secretary Keelin and auditioned for their production of The Pirates of Penzance. After a few in-person and self-taped auditions I was invited into their ensemble and whole-heartedly welcomed into their theatre-loving community. I join for weekly group dinners and spend hours bonding over memorizing Gilbert and Sullivan lyrics and learning choreography in the gymnasium of the Christian Brothers School during our evening rehearsals. Even though I can only join them for this show, and most of the other members will be performing together for years to come, they’ve still welcomed me as their beloved Yankee and make me feel like I’ve been performing with them for years. Just as Sr. Anne says, we’ll never have this community again, so it’s important to make the most of it while we can.
Now by this point you are probably wondering why in the world I have titled this blog post “The Wicked Swan Effect.” After it was brought up at tea again this Sunday, I accepted Fr. Barry’s challenge to write a blog post about what has been the source of endless laughter over the past few weeks. On St. Patrick’s Day, I stayed behind in Wexford while Emma, Matt, and Emily went up to Dublin so that I could participate in the local parade on a float with the Light Opera to promote our show. I dressed up as a pirate and had an incredible time yelling “arrgh” while waving my prop sword and asking kids on the street if they stole my hidden treasure. Afterwards, we commemorated the day in The Swan, known affectionately by some as The Wicked Swan, with pints and lots of laughs. The plan for the following day was for me to hop on a bus and join the rest of my community and the priests in Glendalough for two days of prayer, hiking, and historical lessons on dear St. Kevin. Unfortunately, I woke up too ill to travel but my misadventures were forever immortalized in a poem by Fr. Denis. Although it turned out to be COVID-19 that kept me in bed and not just a hangover, the legend will forever live on that I chose “the hair of the dog” over St. Kevin. I know that Fr. Barry coined “The Wicked Swan Effect” to mean missing out on community time thanks to a hangover, but I think The Wicked Swan Effect actually means to bring people together by laughing over misadventures. In times like these, I think we could also use a little more wicked swan in our life.
