To miss the first lockdown?

I'd hate it now as I have a toddler and would be cooped up the entire time.
But at the time I didn't mind lockdown. It meant I didn't have to go to work 😂 and I actually time to do things at home like bake and read books. And i saved so much money not going on days out, holidays, restaurants.
I'd like to have another lockdown for maybe a week or two.

From the personal point of view, no, you're not being unreasonable. I worked as a teaching assistant on rotation due to the reduced number of children at school, so I got to spend lots of time with my ASD child, and he thrived. The weather was amazing, and I appreciated seeing loved ones more, so I resonate with what you're saying.

Obviously from the other side of the coin, it was awful for the small businesses, medical vulnerable and our medical/care workers so I acknowledge it was not the same for everyone, but that's not what your post is about. So YNBU.

Horrible thread. I was lucky enough to be working in a supermarket and not stuck at home but it was still an awful time. I didn’t agree with the lockdowns and I still don’t, it was a hard time for anyone with a mind of their own.

The sudden change to accessibility was mind blowing. After years of fitting part-time study and freelance work around my three children’s school hours and activities, I was suddenly able to access so many interesting and stimulating resources! A series of seminars on translation organised by the New York Public Library and delivered via Zoom was a highlight.

I naively thought we were seeing the beginnings of a better, more accessible future. The scramble to return to in-person as the default, and the refusal to acknowledge the benefits of widening access, really shocked me.

I am not in the UK and we were locked down for a lot more and a lot longer that the UK.
I lost my job, became agoraphobic and the whole thing totally wrecked my retirement plans.

I worked for an education supply agency at the time.

We had upwards of 200 people working for us, all unemployed overnight when the schools closed in March 2020. Supply teachers don’t get paid when they’re not working, and they’re not usually self employed either. I vividly remember staying at work until the last one had been spoken to, even if it was just to listen to their panic. Furlough wasn’t a thing at first, and some of them didn’t qualify when it was.

I do remember how absolutely awful that was, and absolutely wasn’t without empathy for the many, many people I employed that were left in real hardship.

But it wasn’t my fault, and it’s not OPs either. We didn’t invent a pandemic. And outside of the shitshow that was my employment at the time, it’s not unreasonable to have enjoyed life slowing down and seeing less of the wider public if actually that’s your preference.

I might have respected the need for lockdown if the government wasn’t gaslighting us at every turn, deliberately muddling deaths “with Covid” and “of Covid”, and if they JUST ONCE fucking apologised for the damage their protracted lockdowns were causing, instead of Saint Boris’s grovel at “100,000 deaths”. And apologised for the destruction of businesses, and the self-employed who were plunged into poverty overnight by billionaire Sunak.

I agree entirely with this.
At a personal level it was bliss. But didn't forget my privileged position WFH with my DH also WFH. I am very well aware of self employed people and small business let alone clinical staff take on it.
What I think we miss was to be able to lead a simple life.
Not the crazy birthday parties, no multiple sports and clubs. No commute. No office days where you are utterly wrecked.
The highlight was to go for a walk nearby. Cooking a nice meal. The person you crossed paths with and say hi. The friendships were suddenly so important and valued. My DC had a great experience too and now in their early teens miss it too, same us DH and me.
I'm very sorry to hear all the bad experiences and how much some kids were affected by it.
I'm very sorry it was so different to all of us 💐

Well yes some lucky people did enjoy it but it was absolutely disastrous and deadly for many.

I was glad to work from home, I enjoyed the local walks.

I am able to see the few positive things. Unlike the over 20,000 people who are not alive to look back at that time because of the belated actions or inactions of the worst Prime Minister ever. If I believed in the death penalty I would wish him to hang.

People die all the time. Should we all stop enjoying every moment because someone, somewhere has died?

Are you still working, spending time with loved ones, laughing, loving despite the thousands who have died in Ukraine?

Enjoying your own life experience and empathizing with others who are suffering are not mutually exclusive.

I loved it too

Like loads of my friends, I have lockdowns to thank for transforming my work/life balance.

My job was full on and in the office 5 days per week. I manage a large team and we none of us thought we could do the job remotely. Now, my entire team works remotely and we have a completely agile working policy meaning that most of them work when it suits them.

We get together for face to face meetings and training sessions but that’s it. It has really given us all balance and I now enjoy a job that used to tire me out.

I sort of see what you mean but you are probably looking at it through rose tinted glasses. It was a scary time even if you didn’t lose anyone close to you as we were going into the unknown. Not knowing when the kids would return to school, how much their education would be impacted, how much our careers would be impacted, whether we’d ever be able to travel again etc. Very scary.

But the world slowing down was lovely. Not rushing around all the time, no commuting, no work stress, more time with my children, more time in my home, more time with my DH.

That was all lovely and made me realise what my life was lacking. So I quit my job, found a much nicer job where I work from home full time and have been fully present for my family ever since then.

I think if you are longing for lockdown again then you need to make some changes to your life now.

I think you are getting an unnecessarily hard time here OP. I agree with you.

I worked in the NHS, not medical or nursing, and I worked but my job changed as we were redeployed to do critical things. I was swapped from 9-5 Monday to Friday to 3, 12 hour days. I had 4 days a week at home, with my DH who was self employed but couldn't work (builder) and my DD3 who couldn't go to nursery. I enjoyed feeling like I was doing something to help the hideous situation and doing something that mattered. My DHs relationship with DD improved immensely as they had those 3 days a week together which was much more than usual, and we all got to spend more time together as a family.

We were incredibly lucky, we didn't lose anyone personally and we were able to return to normality without much issue. We know other people, most other people, weren't that lucky - but that doesn't mean that we didn't get a lot of positives from it.

When did we all become so hideous to each other? Just because someone's experience of a poor time generally for many was different doesn't make it wrong!!

Well I worked in financial I saw the raw emotion of people being furloughed scared of the impact on not being able to provide for families not being able to pay mortgages running up debts whilst I saw my neighbours elderly people dying without being able to comfort whilst being a key worker and having to home school. My goodness you clearly don’t emphasise with others in your perfect lockdown bubble.

Jesus what a load of navel gazing bullshit. Read the room. People died.

I turned to drink. I hated it.

Goodness me. People have different experiences. It wasn't awful for me, it was fantastic. I couldn't care less what anyone thinks of me for feeling that. I loved every moment.

It was a complete shit show. I had two kids working in hospitality during the eat out to help out fiasco. Two other children doing gcse and a levels. I was working full time in a supermarket. But that's my experience I'm sure it was lovely for some.

For me, the first lockdown came 1 week after having DD so having us all at home was different but positive - we all muddled along and had fun bonding. As a result of it long ter., DH now works from home 4 days a week, having children at home unwell whilst working is now more acceptable than ever, and in general both mine and DH's work/life balance is soooo much better. Yes it had its negatives too - postnatal support was non existent for one. BUT so many positives for our family came out of it long term, that despite the worry at the time, I wouldn't change it ever

ABSOLUTELY NOT! Locking down has caused so many societal issues that its changed the psyche of the country completely.

To think that the British people allowed themselves to be told to stay indoors by Government idiots who laughed at us and partied, just infuriates me.

Even Bojo said retrospectively that he couldn't believe how compliant members of the public became.

I loved it. I work about 100 hours a week. Lockdown slowed this to about 40. It was heaven to have time to sit, read, walk and take time to rest.

The slower pace of life was grand. I didn't have to people which was great.