Another kick in the teeth

Woke up this morning feeling dizzy. Head spinning a little when I got up, so went straight back to bed. Not sure whether it was the change of the clocks or the concept of having to get up to take Ottawacker Jr. to the RA Centre for 6.30am, in time for his first game of the winter season against Nepean Hotspurs. Either way, it didn’t happen. I crawled back into bed and let Mrs. Ottawacker do the honours, which she did gracefully.
 
Slept until about 9 and woke up feeling less “off” but not quite right. So, I decided to not work (it can wait) and instead focused on getting some of the chores done in preparation for our trip. The horror of my imposition of a one-suitcase limit is beginning to hit home on the other two Ottawackers. Ottawacker Jr. had essentially a case of books ready to bring with him. While I am all in favour of his reading habit, I also know who is going to end up carrying the books. One suitcase it is. This means that there has been a rush on the washing machine, as I am bombarded with Ottawacker Jr.’s sports kit that had been mouldering under the bed, Mrs. Ottawacker’s “ooh-well-you-never-know…” clothes selection, and a variety of my own things that haven’t seen the light of day since the last trip I took.
 
Mitch called around mid-morning with good cheer and croissants; he left with a list of chores for while we are away. I’m pretty sure it would just be easier for him to move in.
 
At 12.30, a phone call. Isabelle, the daughter of my friend André, called to tell me that he had passed away at the end of last week. In many respects I find this harder to bear than the news about Mrs. Ottawacker’s dad; with him, he was 98 and we had been expecting it. André and I had had lunch together last week. I am so glad I didn’t put it off. It was peaceful, but completely unexpected. He was just telling me how much he was looking forward to getting back into sculpting. Spent a couple of hours tracking down various people to let them know. Very sad.