A day of momentousness and portent

The very fortunate Mrs. Ottawacker had to be reminded that 20 years ago today we got married. Since then, every day of her existence has been better than the last. Such is the joy of being wed to the Ottawacker. Having been reminded of the countless moments of joy I bring, she gave me one of her rather knowing looks and took Ottawacker Jr. out to play tennis. He might be in semi-isolation, but there is no need for him to sit on his arse doing nothing. I, meanwhile, got down to work and did a bug chunk of translation.
 
In the afternoon, following a call from my uncle and aunt in BC, I took Ottawacker Jr. out to Navan (oh, the endless moments of joy a father can bring to his son as well) where we got lost. I blame the appalling detour signs (every road in Ottawa is currently being dug up and “repaired”) (and those that aren’t being dug up and repaired are being dug up in preparation for repair) on the Navan road, which I followed to the letter and still ended up heading in the wrong direction. Ottawacker Jr. was happily on hand with the phone to get us back on track, but not before we almost had the mother of all crashes.
 
I was driving down Mer Bleue Road doing 60 when an elderly Chinese lady just pulled out of an adjacent car park. I had seen her coming, thankfully, but had nonetheless assumed she would stop because (a) we had made eye contact, (b) she was slowing down, and (c) thought she would have at least rudimentary knowledge of the highway code and how it applies to cars pulling out of car parks. Apparently not. Out she came. Fortunately, I was able to pull out into the opposite lane safely and scare her half to death with the horn. Had there been anything in the other lane, I would have had to ram her – and then explain to Mrs. Ottawacker why the plum of our loins had been involved in a car crash. I’ve no doubt the Elderly Chinese Lady would have come off worse, but that is hardly the point. She had the grace to make apologetic signals when she caught up to us at the traffic light, but still, there has to come a time when people are tested more regularly on basic highway and byway safety rules.
 
Anyway, all’s well, etc… We made it to Navan, bought some salad fixings and ham and other essentials, and then went back home via Skechers at the Trainyards, where Ottawacker Jr. finally agreed to get new running shoes. And very nice they were too.
 
Then home, where a nice man came around and patched our driveway in preparation for its sealing in Friday. Dinner. Further efforts to move. And a Dr. Who episode before bed. We have now moved onto the Matt Smith era. Surprisingly good.
 
The blip is of Ottawacker Jr. pointing out one of the first French phrases he learned – courtesy of Only Fools and Horses. He’s got more use out of the other one, though: “Après moi, le deluge.”