My last day! I slept at bj’s, it was a bit awkward on the sofa but I found a position that works. At some point in the night, I was woken up by Coda coming into the living room and I think I shouted out loud in fright!
I woke up proper about 8, texted bj, maybe napped a little longer, eventually Brody came in to say good morning! We watched bananas in pajamas and he asked me what everyone was saying, then we watched Hulk Smash! And it had a grey hulk, red hulk, and later a blue hulk. He was sitting close to me which I liked, and asked more questions about the Hulk show, which I was happy to answer.
A little later, Dan was sat next to me and mentioned he’d heard me and bryony playing! I think he said he’d never heard her laugh like that before or something similar, that was lovely cause it felt so normal and silly and fun to play with BJ, really like she was my little sister and we were just messing about. I kinda hope that they get to have a similar feeling, there’s something special about co-op games that brings out those feelings, in a way that nothing else can! Obvs that’s why I added a bunch of coop games to his collection. The single player ones are for him to enjoy as games, the coop ones are for him to experience as coop with Bryony! And actually thinking about it, me and him had the same kind of thing when we played, although she was funnier to play with because of how she panics!
Later, I got in the shower, when I got out Charr and Kath were there with Casper! (kaspa?). He was opening presents, which Brody was more than happy to help with!
I didn’t talk to Kath or Charr much, I later felt like I’d missed out a bit, as I would have liked to have known how their Xmas had been so far and what they got for each other. I think I was a bit stressed about going home, as i didn’t know what the plans were if there were any, and I hadn’t checked my trains yet.
I held Casper for a bit, twice. The first time I held him facing me and he was super cute and chubby and very smiley! I gave him to BJ after a very short while cause I felt nervous/anxious holding him, I both didn’t know what to do to make sure he was safe, and also, didn’t know what to do to interact with him! I find Brody way easier because Brody can talk and we can chat, even though it’s about little things.
After a couple minutes I asked to hold Casper again, I’d processed holding him in my mind and was ready to try it again without being too nervous or anxious about “doing it right”. I was happier holding him the second time, and moved about with him and jigged a bit while holding him and interacting with BJ, just matching her motion.
Casper didn’t stay put for long though I don’t think, because he was very tired. He normally sleeps 4 times a day, and hadn’t had either of his morning naps yet.
After Kath and Charr went home, we all had lunch, which was baguettes with cheese, deli meats, marmite and some kind of garlic and herb thing which smelled nice but I didn’t have any. One of the cheeses was really nice, it was a bit mature and very creamy and full of taste. We also had slices of apple and grapes. I didn’t eat much, I was hungry before lunch but got full quickly.
After lunch (or maybe before?) we played pop up pirate, nobody knew how to play it at first which was a bit stressful! But then Dan found the box and we learned how to play, eventually it was just me and Brody, it was pretty fun and I liked that I could play with Brody with it just being me and him.
Afterwards, we played with his “build a dinosaur” kit, which I really loved because I like putting things together and working out how things fit with each other. I also liked helping Brody, I tried to find a good balance between the smallest amount if help he’d need to solve each problem, like, which dinosaur body fits with which legs, and how to remind him to put the little plastic screws in. He was good with the screwdriver and once he’d learned which direction to turn it in (ie clockwise) he remembered each time after that.
There was an interesting moment where he’d built a head and neck, and I was ready for the next part of the task (which was screwing the neck into the body), but he just sat and played “roar!” with the dinosaur head! In the moment I’d kind of forgot that he’s just a tiny child. I told Bryony later in the car, and she said yeah, there’s no objective for him, it’s all just play.
Next, we had a plan to drop me off at the station, I knew roughly what times my trains were. I packed up my things which was crazy stressful, like it always is. At one point I realised I’d packed my cables away in a box that Dan taped up for me, so he had to undo it and redo it for me! But he was super chill and extra helpful, stayed out of the way but still helped in just the way that was right for me, it was really nice to feel kind of looked after like that.
Then we left, and I checked my trains in the car on the way to the station, but they were all canceled! Luckily BJ said to check trains going from Farnborough Main, instead of Frimley, and there were plenty for that.
We had spare time so we went to B&Q to get paint for Brody’s room. We weren’t in there for very long. On the car journey Jo
there, me and Brody talked, like him saying “look there’s a house!” etc which was adorable. B&Q was a bit of a blur, but missions with people you love hanging out with always are. They’re just sort of a nice hazy memory, more like a lovely shared experience than something grounded and real. On the way from B&Q to the station, Brody was playing with a mini paint roller that we bought. He asked about where I was going, ie my home, and why I was going home. He asked a few whys about why I was looking at cars too, maybe he’s getting into the famous “why?” stage?
Then we got to the station and I said my goodbyes, which was really really hard! I felt like I was missing them already. Brody didn’t say goodbye, he was behaving as though he was shy but I think he was just sad. I gave him a kiss goodbye anyway and told him I would see him soon! Then I said goodbye to BJ, I gave her a kiss on the head and 2 big hugs.
Now I’m on my last train home!
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Other bits:
- I asked Brody what mummy and daddy’s favourite colours are, while we played Pop Up Pirate, and he knew! (I think Dan’s was blue or red? And bj was black and red)
- Oh! And he said that my shoes are “shoes and boots” because I’d called them both at some time
- Also, not on this day, but I remember Dan coming into the pub near Owens, holding Coda on a chain
- Charlotte and me and Dan talked briefly about games, she said, she likes 3rd person games like Tomb Raider and God of War, but she’s excited to try playing together with me and Dan. We talked a bit about castle crashers, she said she wasn’t keen but I think she’d like it. I also said, I’ve added her on Facebook, as of about yesterday! She said ooh, it’s not often that someone adds her on fb!
- Dan said: “you should rent somewhere around here”, in the last car journey, to the station. That was nice, he’d said I should move closer before so it was nice for him to say that again, after we’d spent even more time together and I’d stayed over in his home… and after he’d seen be get stressed about packing and trains, and lose myself in Brody’s world!