I’ve been waiting for an evening like this. Looking forward to it like a celebration on the horizon, like the day the evenings will start to get lighter, like a birthday or Christmas. It’s living up to its promise so far: a large orange moon hangs in the sky, it’s reflection ripples on the surface of the lake. The cold is biting and there is a murmur of anticipation between the swimmers. We can’t quite believe what we are about to do, what we have let ourselves in for. Have we forgotten all the times we swam in this temperature before? Last year’s cold swims seem far away, but we could do it then and we will do it now. We will find that place in our minds where this challenge is regular. And, of course, it helps to not be swimming alone. For many of us this is the first swim at night, the steps down to the water are lit by the lights on our hats and tow floats. The lights move with the nervous gestures of the swimmers, then, one by one, they enter the water and drift out to the centre of the lake like lanterns. I hang back for my turn. Completely present, waiting, I see bats swoop down and pick at the bugs that hover right on the surface. When I step in, the temperature is not far from the air, and it’s easier than I think to slip down into the water. With a deep breath I lunge forward. It’s wonderful, the feeling of joining the others in the water on a night like this. I’m not used to water at night. So many times I have looked out over the lake after the sun has set, and now I am completely immersed in it. It’s as though I’m swimming in ink, I can barely see my legs beneath the surface, but I feel safe with the lights of swimmers around me and the large orange moon above. We will never capture it properly on our cameras, we can only enjoy it tonight. From the centre of the lake I look back to the bank; the lake house has a warm and welcoming glow. After this lap I will sit there with these good people, eating good food, wrapped warm, laughing at each other, sharing stories. And on nights like this nothing feels like more of a gift than the cold water, the moon and their company.
