Cerridwen is Welsh for 'Keeper of the Cauldron'. Cerridwen was the name of my beautiful black cat.
I moved back to our family farm from West Des Moines October 31, 1995, the night of Halloween. The old mobile home we had purchased to live in next to Mom's house was in place; everything was hooked up except the rural water which was done by the end of the week. I moved into it alone as Bud had yet to find a job in SW Iowa so he stayed in WDM for another four months.
One day in December Mom & I went to visit Ron & Ruthie. Their cat, Oreo, had had kittens in October. They had found homes for all but two of the little fur balls. "Don't you need a kitten?" "No, we've got a cat." "But she's still in WDM with Bud. Don't you want a little kitten to keep you company? They're already house broken."
Whether they wore me down or if I wanted a kitten and didn't know it, I finally said "maybe." Both of them were black females. How to decide which one to take? I held them up looking into the eyes of first one and then the other back and forth. I don't even know why I chose the one I did. She rode home inside my coat - next to my heart.
I hadn't had a kitten of my own since growing up on the farm forty-some years earlier. The cat we had was my daughter, Kari's, which we inherited when she went away to college. My brother and his wife had sent home a litter pan with me and enough kitten food for the first night. It was cold. The kitten was away from its family for the first time. It seemed natural to take it to bed with me. I cuddled it, talked to it and let it roam around the bed. It finally settled down and curled up on the pillow at the top of my head.
I knew I wanted a Celtic name for her. Kari had given me a wall plaque of the mythical Cerridwen stirring her cauldron. It fit: Cerridwen, the crone, stirring a black cauldron, moving there on Halloween, black cat born in October; I named her Cerridwen. And she did keep me company that winter. And every night she slept on top of my head.
Cerridwen was a long haired cat which may have made her seem larger that she was, but she grew into a very big cat; not fat, just long and big and heavy. She still wanted to sleep atop my head. Each night she would jump up on the bed and pad her way up to the pillow. I would let her stay there awhile then gently put her down. She was too heavy to let her stay there all night.
Both of the cats were spayed, so we didn't have to worry about them being outside. Cassie was always ready to come in at night but Cerridwen started wanting to stay out. If we brought her in, she would sit by the door and meow until we let her out. Every morning when I got up she would be sitting on the deck waiting to come in.
Then one morning in October when she was three, she wasn't there. I never saw her again, never knew for certain what happened to her. That was October, 1998; eleven years ago.
I think it is likely I will adopt a kitten again someday. But there will never be another one like Cerridwen.
I moved back to our family farm from West Des Moines October 31, 1995, the night of Halloween. The old mobile home we had purchased to live in next to Mom's house was in place; everything was hooked up except the rural water which was done by the end of the week. I moved into it alone as Bud had yet to find a job in SW Iowa so he stayed in WDM for another four months.
One day in December Mom & I went to visit Ron & Ruthie. Their cat, Oreo, had had kittens in October. They had found homes for all but two of the little fur balls. "Don't you need a kitten?" "No, we've got a cat." "But she's still in WDM with Bud. Don't you want a little kitten to keep you company? They're already house broken."
Whether they wore me down or if I wanted a kitten and didn't know it, I finally said "maybe." Both of them were black females. How to decide which one to take? I held them up looking into the eyes of first one and then the other back and forth. I don't even know why I chose the one I did. She rode home inside my coat - next to my heart.
I hadn't had a kitten of my own since growing up on the farm forty-some years earlier. The cat we had was my daughter, Kari's, which we inherited when she went away to college. My brother and his wife had sent home a litter pan with me and enough kitten food for the first night. It was cold. The kitten was away from its family for the first time. It seemed natural to take it to bed with me. I cuddled it, talked to it and let it roam around the bed. It finally settled down and curled up on the pillow at the top of my head.
I knew I wanted a Celtic name for her. Kari had given me a wall plaque of the mythical Cerridwen stirring her cauldron. It fit: Cerridwen, the crone, stirring a black cauldron, moving there on Halloween, black cat born in October; I named her Cerridwen. And she did keep me company that winter. And every night she slept on top of my head.
Cerridwen was a long haired cat which may have made her seem larger that she was, but she grew into a very big cat; not fat, just long and big and heavy. She still wanted to sleep atop my head. Each night she would jump up on the bed and pad her way up to the pillow. I would let her stay there awhile then gently put her down. She was too heavy to let her stay there all night.
Both of the cats were spayed, so we didn't have to worry about them being outside. Cassie was always ready to come in at night but Cerridwen started wanting to stay out. If we brought her in, she would sit by the door and meow until we let her out. Every morning when I got up she would be sitting on the deck waiting to come in.
Then one morning in October when she was three, she wasn't there. I never saw her again, never knew for certain what happened to her. That was October, 1998; eleven years ago.
I think it is likely I will adopt a kitten again someday. But there will never be another one like Cerridwen.
How does one pronounce that name?
ReplyDeleteGood question. I say care id win. Don't know if the Welsh pronounce it that way.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right with the K sound. Like we now say Celtic. I still tend to say /S/ tho. :)
ReplyDelete