How are you? What’a life like for you right now?

[Hannie123]

I thought this would be a nice space for everyone to say how they are feeling and what life is like at the moment. Let it all out x

I'm going to go with OK. I'm WFH full time, but the main part of my job is organising travel and events, I have a lovely boss but feel guilty that I'm not really doing very much. DH is also still working full time, he's classed as a key worker (food operations management) so is out quite a lot leaving me at home with 2 x primary aged DC.

Fortunately, the DC are pretty low maintenance and happy to potter about. DS is having far, far too much Xbox which I'm going to have to reign in at some point, but he's happy and in contact with his friends so that's good. DD is also spending a lot of time online with friends so she's happy too!

I'm usually very sociable and missing my friends and activities terribly. I'm always slightly low contact with my family so no massive change there.

I've treated myself to Netflix so have been enjoying that. DH is also an excellent cook so I'm getting fatter!

Hoping for an end to the lockdown as soon as practical so we can get back to normal!

Feeling a bit meh today, not helped that DS2 is being very grumpy

Reasonably ok here. Grateful that dh's job is secure (as long as his company survives), mine is more doubtful but is not a big part of our household income anyway so not a huge problem if I lose it. We have a large garden so have plenty of space to get outside (kids are having a nerf battle). Eating better than ever because I have so much time to cook and bake!

Main worries are my DD, who is waiting for an operation which was supposed to be last week. And FIL who is shielding (multiple health problems including copd) but who is insanely stubborn and (we fear) getting more and more confused and who is literally impossible to help regarding getting food deliveries.

I'm paddling like a duck right now. I am grateful for the slowed down pace of life outside; no running / driving back and forth between clubs for the DC etc. But I am self employed and have lost a considerable amount of work and income.

I am expected to do most of the childcare around DH's full time job. And I am expected to enjoy it. I am expected to do most of my work either in the evenings or with the kids at my neck. We do not have a tv so the minute I fire up the laptop for work, the DC are interested.

I have to chase a few late/ non payers, which is a slog. My family thinks that I am ok because I soldier on and don't complain. Yet DM and others use every opportunity to say how lonely they are, forgetting that they can ring me/ write/ video call etc. I do not always have to be the one to instigate the communication people! I wish that DH would do more with the DC than digging effing holes in the garden. Time with dad does not a toolbox need.

Nice thread!
Sort of ok. Up and down really. On day 30 of probably CV and just finished some vile antibiotics so that is a plus! V tired all the time.
Appreciating baking and having nice home cooked food. Reading, gardening.
Here with DH WFH and DS11 who has become very cheeky so that is worrying me.
Trying to be upbeat. Treating a day where I don't cry as a win!!
Sending to you all

Oh and forgot to mention I am furloughed as I work in a school but not teaching staff

Right now I’m ok. This morning has a wobble I work part time and now from home but actually doing more hours than ever. DH working full time. Both teens home from university and really having to readjust food shopping. I’m not used to all been home for all meals. They are like locusts.

I’m having a ball! No, really, I am!

Of course there are things I’m missing; and I think in a few weeks’ time some of the novelty may begin to wear off. But for now: I moved in with DP at the start of lockdown and it’s been wonderful. I’m in the very fortunate position of still being on full pay and WFH so have no financial worries. I don’t have a single friend, relative, acquaintance or colleague who has had Corona. Socially, we have drunken all-night Zoom parties with friends pretty much every Friday and Saturday nights, we talk to other friends and relatives all over the world most other nights on Zoom or FaceTime and whilst it isn’t quite the same, it certainly means no loneliness. I ride my bike or run every day so my fitness is good. I’m volunteering to delivery groceries to vulnerable households, so I feel useful.

I usually have a very full, busy life with lots of going out, social activities, hobbies, weekend breaks, holidays and so on; so I’ve been somewhat surprised to be enjoying lockdown quite so much but I think it’s about making the best of things and thankfully I’m surrounded by people who are very good at doing just that.

Forgot to add that church are doing online services at the moment, and are having planning meetings during the week in the evenings, which is another thing to 'take' my time. I feel like lots of people are thriving on the fact that most of us are at home, and so they believe that we all have extra time to do extra jobs for them. I've had some people expect me now to respond to emails within short time frames, and when I haven't, they have rung me. It is too much.

How are you @OP? How is your life at the moment?

@teaAddict235 I’m sorry 😔 things seem pretty heavy for you right now and I’m sure having the kids on top of that makes it much harder. I completely relate to you when you say about people reaching out. One thing I’ve seen in all this is people’s true colours. Who you thought is there for you isn’t always who actually is. I have felt that ‘pressure’ too and completely understand how you feel. I wish I could give you a hug!

Overall, I am doing well thank you for asking and consider myself fortunate. I feel guilty knowing others are struggling. I have a new baby, FTM, and on maternity leave. And fortunately have a helpful and doting husband. I love having him around and so does our little one. Job wise we both have been quite fortunate as we are in Education. Hubby is a key worker but work has been very accommodating. Having hubby has made me feel more like ‘me’ since having a baby as we halve duties and I’ve been doing more things for me. Small things like doing a face mask, painting or baking. We don’t have a garden and a very small home, but we have made the best of an odd situation. We were supposed to move into our first home and live close to my mum but this has all be postponed.

Thank you all for sharing and feel free to continue to do so. It will get better

It's not bad. Me & the girls have been keeping busy. They've spent much of today on Minecraft though & I've been crafting.

I am slightly worried about where my 2nd job wants to send us (me and my 2 colleagues) from Monday though as we've just been asked if we're available with no inkling of where/what doing.

I need to be within reasonable distance of home as I'd have to leave the girls, & public transport isn't as frequent as usual so not sure how practical getting to wherever for a 7am start would be. Plus, I'm already on the rota next week and the week after for my first job which is school support staff so travel would probably interfere with that. Suppose I'll wait and see what they say.

Just finished up working from home. We've been on reduced hours and I've a feeling my job while probably vanish completely before long. Trying to balance relief (as job has been a nightmare for a long time and WFH twice as bad) with total panic as I'll be out of work, for the first time ever - but I'll be fine for a while. Have also got rather ominous headache, really quite bad, but the rest of me is fine so I'll put that down to stress. Shitty neighbours thumping on piano all day hasn't helped much. Washing machine has also given up the ghost and have gigantic pile of washing so thinking about launderette options, not my greatest of days.

Today i am very very stressed and tearful. I'm trying to work, but 13-yr-old DS has a big piece of homework to finish by Friday (as well as loads of other little bits for other subjects) and he simply will NOT do it. He says he started it in class and doesn't see why he should have to repeat drawings he's already done, but the instructions very clearly state that it must all (in italics) be completed, photographed and submitted by Friday. It doesn't help that he absolutely hates this teacher and she's sucked all the joy out of Art for him since September. I've begged, I've bribed, I've shouted, but he won't budge and now I've got a headache and I'm massively stressed and hours behind with my own work. I am really, really struggling to get him to do any school work at all and it's worrying me sick - I'm probably catastrophising a bit, I know, but this has been a long-term issue and it's a million times worse now that it's all the work until possibly the end of the academic year, and not just the odd bit of homework, that I'm responsible for getting him to do. DH has been about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

I am doing great. I love this time I have with my kids. Working from home and it’s going great. Having a great time with the kids.

I am grateful for this thread, thank you.
I am not ok. The pressure of homeworking and homeschooling and caring for my DC, one of whom is autistic and not coping at all plus I am a single parent is overwhelming me. I explained my worries to work who suggested unpaid leave...how a single parent could cope on no income is a mystery to me. Thank you for this thread. I feel a little better just for stating the above

I am happy on the whole. Life has been calm and pleasant. About to enter furlough next week for 3 weeks and a bit concerned how I will fit 4 weeks work into one week. Looking forward to 3 weeks off but not so much the May payslip.

Right now, I am ok. We have been for a long walk in the sun and we are having a take-away for dinner (I am ignoring the cost of the take-away). I am lucky that I still get to regularly leave the house and see other people because I am a keyworker though leaving the house, going on public transport and mixing with other people can be a bit scary too, the weather is nice, I am not doing 'home school' this week because it is the school holiday, DH and I both have jobs that still exist, no one we know is yet very unwell.
The bits of me that are not ok are not coronavirus-related. They are an exacerbation of things that were already not ok mixed with the effects of having counselling which I knew would make me feel worse. I have lost all my healthy coping mechanisms, because they involved peace and quiet and time on my own, so am reliant on unhealthy coping mechanisms, and I have convinced myself that it is no longer ok not to be ok when, in comparison to just about everything, I don't have anything to complain about.

Things are actually quite good here.

I have just been furloughed (with a return date of 1st May) and my boyfriend lost his job, but.

My son (4) is enjoying being at home and it’s really lovely having more time with him. We managed some cycling without falling off his bike today! Very proud Dad.

My boyfriend has moved in for lockdown and it’s going better than we thought it would, obviously we do irritate each other a bit, but we’re getting on well and we’ve settled into a decent routine. He already got on well and coped well with my son, and they’re doing okay together. My son is as expected a little jealous, but that’s normal for a four year old who sometimes has so share Daddy.

I started a new job 2nd March and was only in office for 2 weeks before being sent to Wfm. My team is international and there was a travel ban in place when I started. So I have met 2 people and am trying to pick everything up via email and phone call and it's mega busy as we are involved in business continuity plans. Teenage dd is loving it all though and is happy to live life virtually. They do watch parties etc. Dh hates working from home and cleans things as displacement. I let him get on with it 😂 I miss my friends but feel lucky as we have a garden and both remain in work.

We're ok, but a neighbour who has been in hospital is being discharged to a nursing home, so we're worried about her.

I’m very lucky. I’m furloughed for two months. I will probably be better off as I spend a lot commuting. I live in a glorious part of the country with open countryside all around us. We have a bit of land too, with horses and dogs. The weather is beautiful. I get on really well with my husband, who is also furlonged. We’re enjoying getting overdue jobs done and spending so much time together (I am frequently away for work in normal life). I just wish I could spend more time with my mum, who is struggling a bit on her own.

@Bluewater1 this really saddened me. I am a special needs teacher so I can only empathise with you. I really pray for better days for you and am glad you feel slightly better by letting things off your chest. Please feel free to message me if you need a chat x

Ok I suppose. It's not so different from normal life for me. I'm very isolated because of my 3 sen kids, so I just don't get the break I usually do when they are at school, but they are actually finding life easier without school anyway. Worried about my parents - even though they have a lot of family near I am not near and all I can do is chase around trying to get supermarket deliveries for them. Thanks for asking. Keep going everybody. X

@spiderlight sending you love! I know it’s not much comfort, but please don’t put yourself under immense pressure for work to be completed. Your son has responsibilities to his work and while it is frustrating watching him ignore those responsiblites, you are not at fault! I hope things improve for you soon. I’m here if you ever want to talk x

To anyone who reads this, I just need to say that things will change, they will get better, there will be a new normal we will grow to love. Please look after yourself, you cannot be there for anyone if you do not take care of yourself. Remember you are not working from home or home-schooling your children. You are trying to work at home through a crisis. You are trying to provide an education for your children through a crisis. Some of us have got the short straw in this and I can only offer you my time and love. So please feel free to send me a message. Rant to me, tell me how your day has been, it doesn’t matter. Just keep talking. And off course, use this space to unload. Things will get better. There will be brighter days. We will get through this. I am here for you flowers]