Away for 24 hours, seemed much longer

With Mrs. Ottawacker away in Sundridge for the weekend, there was the opportunity for a lie-in, something that happens very, very rarely in my experience. Today was no exception. There I was, 6am, arising from the bed to empty an old man’s bladder (mine, before you start wondering) when there was the inevitable “thud” from the office, and the sound of a cat stretching. This quickly became the sound of two cats stretching and running towards the bedroom with the utmost speed. By the time I had finished micturations, washed hands and dried them, both cats were outside the bedroom miaowing loudly. Desperate to not wake Ottawacker Jr. in the next bedroom, I reopened the door (I have a strict “no cats allowed” policy of a night time) and let them in. That was the end of the lie-in. Five minutes after having settled, the loud purring began, followed by the simultaneous moving up to my head and flicking of the tail. Then came the head butts, the well-timed skirmish, and the chasing of imaginary flies. By 6.15, I was up and had fed them. And once I am up, that’s that, I’m afraid.
 
Ottawacker Jr. surfaced shortly afterwards and announced his intention to travel the transit network. I have put a stop to that as of July 1 – not taking any chances he’ll catch something and miss his operation as a result. That would be a catastrophe. So, for the nine days preceding the op, he’ll be strapped into a chair and liberally sprayed with antiseptic lotion. After the op he can do what he likes (within reason)…
 
I spent the morning doing some of the chores and readying the house for the return of Mrs. Ottawacker. Incredible how much mess a 12-year-old boy (and a slightly older man) can make in 24 hours. And the cats, of course, especially the cats.
 
Mid-afternoon, headed out to Kanata to pick up Mrs. Ottawacker. She had already laid the ground for everyone to take a dip in the pool, so we decided to do that and then head back to the practice so Ottawacker Jr. could “help” his replacement in the nets. I guess the time must have got away from us, because the next thing I knew, his practice had started and Ottawacker Jr. was still in the pool. Cue manic drive to the south end of town, arriving in time for the last 30-minute scrimmage.
 
Despite being “at death’s door”, Ottawacker Jr. joined in – and managed to get through it without any ill effects. So much so, in fact, that he was heard opining that he might have been able to play tomorrow after all. “But probably best not to,” he said. “Probably…”
 
Home, dinner, and then Ottawacker Jr. and Mrs. Ottawacker launched into a series of dessert-making ideas. So, while I was doing the laundry, they made either a very small strawberry shortcake for Canada Day, or ate half of a much larger strawberry shortcake they had made for Canada Day. Only the guilty looks seemed to provide a clue.