Another day in the books

Having reread what I wrote yesterday (following the slew of concerned messages), I feel I should clarify what is wrong (physically) with my son. Ottawacker Jr. has a very minor issue with his elbow, which is called osteo-chondritis dissecans (OCD). It is very minor – and despite being labelled as a “disease”, it only affects his left elbow. It is also very fixable and will cause no lasting damage, other than a small scar from the laparoscopy they will use to go in and do whatever they will need to do. In the meantime, he can continue playing soccer and having a normal life. Once the operation is done, he will have a 4-5 week period of rehabilitation, which will bring him back to one hundred percent again. We don’t have a date yet for anything – and imagine it will be later rather than sooner. All is well. Sorry for any concern I caused.
 
Today, I was up early to drive Mrs. Ottawacker into her grandly named Leadership Course for 8am, and then came back home to turf Ottawacker Jr. off his laptop and force him into the shower for his weekly wash. Then I settled down to a day of tasks, before welcoming Ottawacker Jr. home from school, making his dinner early, driving him and his friend Lucas out to the Gloucester Dome for their soccer try outs, and driving home. On the way back, I espied Mrs. Ottawacker walking from bus stop to home, so slowed down sufficiently for her to jump in the car, came home, cooked a basic dinner, watched the news (until my blood pressure started rising and I felt words associated with Trump and Netanyahu to be coming out at a volume incompatible with living in a close-knit community), and waited for Ottawacker Jr. to come home. After his second shower of the day, which he was eager to point out he didn’t really need, he had some fruit and a piece of toast, and we watched a genial detective series starring the fantastic Richard Griffiths called Pie In the Sky.
 
The blip is of the Bayshore Hudson’s Bay Company, which has just announced its closure (the whole company, not just the Bayshore branch). This is a bit of a shock, to be honest, as the Company is much older than Canada, and was indeed responsible for “opening up” a large swathe of the country. Not sure what I think… it had become very niche and was always very expensive. But it was an institution and very much part of the fabric of Canada.