Pussy Willow

I was up and down all night watching the wood burner, stirring the logs and adding more wood to be sure that the house stayed warm. I close off the bedrooms and sleep downstairs. When I am nasally congested, I usually sit in a wing chair to sleep. It is easier to breathe that way and I can slip into the kitchen for a sip of water when I am dry.

The door to the basement is also only a few steps away. I have to go up and down one set of steps instead of two and with one arthritic knee, it’s easier on me. My sleep was interrupted and our cat Willow was restless too.

Willow was a stray that was a drop off onto our porch. My daughter, Anna, claimed her and had her spayed. That was a story in itself, and I wrote about the trials of that. Willow would walk around the house each time I went to the basement.

Knowing where the furniture was, I didn’t turn on the lights. After throwing on some wood, I reclaimed my chair, but Willow had settled on it first. I didn’t smash her, but lifted her and made nice with her. After I knew I hadn’t hurt her, I put her down.

Willow is a white cat with black markings. Anna was trying to decide what to name her, when I noticed that one black marking looked like a large letter “W” on her side. Anna toyed with several names that began with “W”, but nothing seemed to fit. She hit on the name Willow and liked it.

It was several weeks later when my creative mind added Pussy to the Willow, making her a Pussywillow.