Out of the blue comes the much-awaited call

Awoke this morning to the news the Pope had died. Not being Catholic, nor even in a remotely Catholic country, I was surprised at how much traction the story got. Yes, he is a world leader, so I suppose it makes some sense – and I have no judgement calls to make one way or another on him – but the news was prominent on all North American channels.
 
Slept really badly again – and this time, I have the feeling I am also coming down with something. Sore throat, sunken eyes, aches and pains – maybe the dreams I had a couple of nights ago about the hantavirus were prophetic. In a strange and uneasy mood all day. The Ottawackers were out and about doing various things – errands, bus rides, gardening – so not a lot of interaction, despite the stat holiday. Other than that, it was a lazy day, during which Ottawacker Jr. continued his Saint-Exupéry-like apprivoisement of Charlie.
 
Late afternoon, I got the long-awaited call from my rheumatologist. I had been dozing in the chair, so he caught me off guard. This could be the only reason I can think of for my being polite. In fairness, he is catching up on his work on an Easter Monday – so I thanked him for that, and listened to him ramble through 20 years of notes. He feels the spondylarthritis in my spine is not a major factor in the leg pain, so recommends I go for the full operation. He spent a while with me, and I have to trust in his knowledge, so accepted his sending my GP a note for a spinal MRI.
 
Ottawacker Jr. out again for football in the evening. He arrived back frozen and soaking. Someone should have told him to wrap up warmly because April in Ottawa is not for the fainthearted. Mind you, I’m the one who has to clean up his mess…