How has the last year been for you?

[PembrokeshireDreaming]

I feel we have been very lucky...........no one close to us has died or been seriously ill from covid, we are financially stable and we have been able to have contact, when allowed, with family, we all live locally so garden visits were easy. We even managed a week away in the UK last summer after we cancelled our trip to Spain. There have been ups and downs but it could have been so much worse!

Work / Finances
Dh has been working from home, he has a workspace in our bedroom lost conversion so that has been fine, his work can be done equally well at home as the office, his job is secure and we have saved the cost of his commute.
I'm a SAHM and receive carer's allowance for ds who has severe learning difficulties and autism.

Kids
DD is now in year 11 and should have been doing her GCSEs, it has been a tough year for her but she has worked hard and engaged well with home learning, she is very sporty and has really missed not being able to train and compete with her club. She is delighted to be back in school. DS has coped reasonably well and developed a new routine of being home, his school have been very supportive and we have had contact from outside agencies although clubs he attended are still closed.

Family
My inlaws live 3 miles away, they are in their 80s and I have been doing all of their shopping (mostly online). My parents live a few doors away, they are in their 80s and I have seen a lot of them as I have been helping to support them and they help to support DS..........we act in lockdown as one household........technically against the rules but they need support and DS needs somewhere to go! We have been very careful, only attending medical appointments and shopping online. I'm really looking forward to seeing my niece who lives on the other side of the country and hasn't been able to visit for over a year.

How was your lockdown year?

I’ve been lucky, was wfh prior to this, no school age children, good sized home and garden. Got 2 gorgeous kittens 6 months prior to lockdown so they’ve kept me company. I was also lucky as I took one big trip and 2 smaller ones in the 4 months leading up to lockdown. So for me personally it’s been a time to work on the house, spend lots of time reading and crafting etc. Lots of time with the kittens! I’ve been able to view it as life being on pause rather than stopped, which I think helps my mental health.

I appreciate my fortunate position every day. I am well aware that many people are losing loved ones, homes, jobs or otherwise struggling. That’s why to say I have “enjoyed” it feels like the wrong word. More I’ve made the best of it, while recognising I have been lucky enough to be able to do so.

I do desperately miss my sister. She lives at the other end of the country and we’d been estranged for a few years (Mainly down to our not so dear mum but that’s a whole other story!) and only been back in touch for a few months before covid hit. Visiting her is the one thing I really want to do.

Boring as hell. I'm a divorced parent of one DS and we are both incredibly social, we like going out with friends, family, on holidays and days out, to restaurants, bowling, the zoo, etc. I also love going on nights out and for drinks with friends when DS is at his dad's. So life is vastly different.

Neither of us have had Covid and everyone we know is healthy thankfully. I am still working although I was furloughed initially this time last year, but business has greatly improved so I went back in August and have actually increased my hours.

I am lucky, but fed the fuck up.

Fine. I have WFH for years so the only difference has been having company in the house, and all of my colleagues also working remotely, which actually makes life easier because communication is all set up for remote working. My children have coped well, but are very pleased to go back to school. I miss my friends, holidays, restaurants etc, and have been pretty bored but I have moved house and started renovating, which is keeping me busy. No-one I know has been seriously ill. Mental health wise, the whole thing has been anxiety provoking and some days in lockdown have been overwhelming with the lack of space and constant demands of home schooling, but life always has good days and bad days. I realise my family has had it very lucky and I'm extremely grateful.

We've been very lucky. I prefer a quiet life anyway so its been less stressful than normal for me. Our finances haven't taken a hit, it even looks like DS1 will get a promotion - he's picked up the slack from people leaving who haven't been replaced, and he managed a potentially serious situation with a customer having a psychotic break.

It's been pretty shit. In many ways DP and I are very lucky, we're retired, have enough money, haven't lost anyone to Covid (or any other cause). But we have both missed seeing family, and travel, and after finishing treatment for cancer in late 2019, I had a recurrence in June, requiring surgery and more sodding chemo. The outlook isn't great for me, and I sometimes wonder if I'll ever experience normal life again.

I worked all the way through it and even got a raise.

One DD did university from home so we were a bit more crowded than I expected we'd be for the year.

The three of us at home got along well.

I decided that Aldi tortellini will feature in any future stockpiling I do. Also dried gnocchi.