“Any man can cuddle, but only a Welsh man can cwtch.”
The first time I heard that was from a stranger last summer. We had just met on a train earlier that afternoon headed up the Costa Brava from Barcelona, Spain. I had planned to spend the weekend at a hotel on the beach but ended up losing myself in his rolling accent and bright blue eyes instead. Before I knew it, he was convincing me to miss my stop so I could get off at his. Fast forward a few hours later and we were wrapped around one another in a twin-sized bed.
I didn’t realize it then, but I had been cwtched, and my heart had been caught.
In case you’re wondering, cwtch (pronounced “kutch”) is a Welsh word that goes beyond your hugging, snuggling, and the ever so common cuddling. It involves an element of protection, of intimacy, and of claiming someone as your own.
If you had told me after my divorce that I would actually want to be cwtched in this way that implies a sense of ownership, I would have rejected your idea full stop. But since my separation from my ex-husband and the failed relationship that followed, I’ve come to realize that I don’t mind being tied down as long as I control the tether.
I have been cuddled by men who equated love with possession. I have been hugged by men who thought physical touch alone meant intimacy. I have been in the arms of those whose hearts were in disrepair and who grasped at me to fix them.
But I had never been cwtched by a man who wanted nothing more than to give his heart entirely to me, expecting only loyalty and love in return.
When someone cwtches you, in that moment, you are irreplaceable. There is no scrolling, no double tapping, just pure connection in the present moment. It is an equal exchange with both parties giving and receiving. Whether you cwtch for a few minutes or a few hours, you know that you are in the embrace of someone who adores you. You are accepted, you are desired, you are home.
That night I lay my cheek on his chest, I realized that I hadn’t felt that way in years, if I had ever felt it at all. Perhaps it was the cwtch that did it, perhaps it was just fate, but that stranger is now my lover, my partner, and my friend. Forever and ever, or at least for as long as we both shall cwtch.
Author: Jolinda Johnson
Email: [email protected]
Author Bio: Jolinda Johnson is a Fertility Coach who helps women longing to become mothers maximize their chances of conception through diet, lifestyle, and mindset. She believes that fertility should be a top priority long before trying to conceive and that all women deserve to experience balanced hormones, hot sex, and radical self-love. She is a lover, a mother, a priestess and a wild woman. In addition to being a certified Beautiful You Life Coach and a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach with a specialization in hormone health, she holds a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and a Masters of Science in the Art of Teaching from Pace University. She is originally from Detroit, MI but has made her home in Barcelona, Spain.
Link to social media and website: www.jolindajohnson.com | Facebook @coachjolinda
