The Cats who Came To Church (redux)
I attended 8 am service last week and mourned Brigid all over again. She was such a part of that service that it is still strange to me to not see her there, processing in with her tail held high, or curled on a chair. I think I saved myself from sudden tearbursts by imagining Maggie in the chapel, rocketing around, knocking things off, and vocalizing.
I was more than half expecting to feel a spectral presence, much like Maya after her somewhat sudden departure. No dice on that, but after the service R. showed some of us where she was buried. (The memorial notice is laminated on the chapel door.)
I find myself checking for her when I emerge from the parking lot stairs onto the patio, especially on sunny afternoons (like last Sunday when I dropped off some food for Evensong.)
I did sense Brigid's presence last night as I was waiting for the bus on after our feed-the-homeless gig (it was a football Saturday). The cars were whizzing by with little regard for pedestrians, and I was thinking about how poor B met her demise, and then "saw" her sitting across the street on the corner of the grounds, calmly surveying the scene, queen of her domain ... and not crossing that crazy street! I was at 8 again this morning, and didn't miss her quite so much.
Julian (the other church cat) has gotten a lot friendlier, at least towards me. She walked into the sacristry as we were doing setup Friday night, greeted me when I took my break in the library yesterday, and was actually out on the patio during the main service today (I took a coffee break during the sermon, as I had heard it at 8 am) and came to me when I called.
And I am telling Maggie how good a cat she was at the Blessing, and how Nicolas keeps asking after her, but what a bad church cat she would probably be (entropists and set-up altars = not a good combo) and how glad I am to have her at home.
(Note to Preston about one of my recent comments - Christmas is still very much with us, thanks be to God.)
I was more than half expecting to feel a spectral presence, much like Maya after her somewhat sudden departure. No dice on that, but after the service R. showed some of us where she was buried. (The memorial notice is laminated on the chapel door.)
I find myself checking for her when I emerge from the parking lot stairs onto the patio, especially on sunny afternoons (like last Sunday when I dropped off some food for Evensong.)
I did sense Brigid's presence last night as I was waiting for the bus on after our feed-the-homeless gig (it was a football Saturday). The cars were whizzing by with little regard for pedestrians, and I was thinking about how poor B met her demise, and then "saw" her sitting across the street on the corner of the grounds, calmly surveying the scene, queen of her domain ... and not crossing that crazy street! I was at 8 again this morning, and didn't miss her quite so much.
Julian (the other church cat) has gotten a lot friendlier, at least towards me. She walked into the sacristry as we were doing setup Friday night, greeted me when I took my break in the library yesterday, and was actually out on the patio during the main service today (I took a coffee break during the sermon, as I had heard it at 8 am) and came to me when I called.
And I am telling Maggie how good a cat she was at the Blessing, and how Nicolas keeps asking after her, but what a bad church cat she would probably be (entropists and set-up altars = not a good combo) and how glad I am to have her at home.
(Note to Preston about one of my recent comments - Christmas is still very much with us, thanks be to God.)
posted by Charlotte at 12:28 PM
1 Comments:
You know, I love the nuanced process of making friends with a cat -- the moment when you see the cat, usually still keeping a safe distance, giving you a verrrrry slooooow blink of friendly acknowledgement that lets you know you're "in," and that it's only a matter of time before s/he's purring against your leg...but you're still going to have to wait awhile. For your own good. Because these things can't be rushed.;-)
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