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Original poster

One Year Later... How has your life changed?

59 replies

LudoBear · 23/03/2021 09:20

One year ago today we were put into lockdown. What a year it's been.

How has your life changed? What have you had to put on hold?

I guess I've been quite lucky in that I was on long term sick so haven't had to work throughout. Though it's certainly made my mental health worse.

OP posts:

SplendidSuns1000 · 23/03/2021 11:28

DH is a tattoo artist so had to change his career to selling his art which has been much more successful than we'd hoped. He owns his studio and another studio so he's likely going to go part time with his tattooing and continue selling his art as it gives us both more freedom. He's enjoying being at home and not worrying about work so much.

I've closed down my etsy business as it's been quite complicated sorting out orders when I'm trying not to leave the house. I'm quite happy with it closed though.

I'm providing childcare for my SIL which means I get to cuddle a baby every week which is bringing so much happiness.

DH and I are so much happier now, we spend all our time together with no time limits. We're very fortunate.

Cowbells · 23/03/2021 11:40

@AnotherBoredOne

Lost my Dh after an 18th battle with Leukemia. Raising three boys on my own now and trying to sort the messes of mortgages and businesses. 2021 will be a year for simplification and consolidation.

So sorry. I hope this next year brings you lots of love and support and bright things to look forward to.

EvilPea · 23/03/2021 11:50

I am so sorry to all those who have had such loss this year

For me, I've realised this is how my life is normally. Its been a bit of a shock to realise this isn't normal existence.

Freetodowhatiwant · 23/03/2021 11:56

My life has completely changed. This time last year I was living with my DH of 20 years (well 20 years together) in our house in London. Now the house is sold, DH and I are separated and in a single mother living by the coast. DH has moved nearby too. I am in a rental until we work out what to do. Kids are at a new school. All having to try to make new friends in lockdown. Unable to visit family now abroad whereas used to see them every day. Holiday home rented out. Still freelancing but been skint due to added costs. I wouldn’t change things as the split was my decision but it’s been a challenging year and I wouldn’t want to repeat it. Thankfully although we know people who had Covid and some friends of friends who did sadly die we have managed to avoid the virus ourselves.

crochetmonkey74 · 23/03/2021 11:58

I have lost some weight, kept safe and have now been vaccinated - but lots of loss for me, lost a good friend to suicide and my long term relationship ended. The last few months have been the bleakest of my life, have been close to suicidal at times but am now starting to feel the new shoots of hope and strength

Megan2018 · 23/03/2021 12:00

I was on mat leave at the start and back to work since Nov with DD in nursery. So life is completely different but not because of Covid.

I miss my family and friends but work is fine (WFH but it’s not much different) so it’s been pretty easy tbh.

I do live in a lovely rural setting so very quiet anyway and I still get to ride my horse and do all my normal things. I appreciate that’s not everyones reality!

Username0981237645 · 23/03/2021 12:07

I was made redundant during the first lockdown and was off work between April and December with a mix of furlough and redundancy notice, that was a weird time but did my mental health wonders. I have now got a much happier job for a company I love and who are truly refreshing to work for in comparison to the toxic environment I was in before that I didn't even truly realise how toxic at the time.
Personal life I will be forever greatful that to this point I haven't lost anybody I love or am close to, something I'll never take for granted.
DH and I haven't struggled either.
Though I am struggling with no travel, as daft as this sounds travel holds my mental health up - being able to disappear on a Saturday to Liverpool for a day out, or into Manchester to see some friends being able to get on a plane a few times a year for an holiday or to visit family just gives me something to look forward to.

MrsJBaptiste · 23/03/2021 12:13

I’ve been WFH for 12 months and haven’t set foot in the office or seen colleagues in person for a year. I hate it and the fact that nothing will change until at least September when we’ll start to return (phased return though)

I’ve walked and walked as the gyms have shut/opened/shut and I’ve had enough. I can’t wait to get back and stop feeling so lethargic and dumpy.

We’ve had pretty much a year as a family of four. All the time. It has been nice to have the teenagers around but it’s not normal to be with your family 24/7. I need to get out and see friends (and not for another bloody walk!)

I’ve worked throughout (hideously busy last summer) and DH has been furloughed a couple of times in the last 12 months. Both working now but who knows…

But the main thing is that I’m bored. So fucking bored.

GreenBalaclava · 23/03/2021 12:18

I am so sorry for your losses ReclaimingTheKaren, AnotherBoredOne and CMOTDibbler.

It's been mainly ok here. DH has worked entirely from home all year, I have mainly wfh with a dozen or so days in work during Sept to Nov last year. We've both adapted fairly well to wfh. Very glad to have the DC back at school.

I've got fitter and lost nearly a stone. We've saved money from not commuting or going on holiday, but have missed family and friends. It's just been a bit boring really!

RaeRaeMama · 23/03/2021 12:47

I have a baby now! Not quite a year yet since her conception but yeah that’s the biggest change, everything else is the same. The only things we’ve had to put on hold are trips away. Can’t wait to have more freedom but am equally terrified that things will change again and we will end up in lockdown again. Really miss my grandmother, she lives in France I last went to visit her end of September 2019, I almost went again in Feb 2020 but decided I’d taken too much time off work already and it was busy... I enormously regret that now

AvonCallingBarksdale · 23/03/2021 13:26

I had Covid in April last year which was horrible. I’ve really struggled living in such close proximity to other people (neighbours, DIY, constant bbqs) and am dreading the world going crazy once restrictions are listed. Cannot cope with all the noise. I had an accident in February so am pretty immobile and spending this much time with DH has made me wonder if there’s enough there for us to stay together once the DC have flown the nest. And I know it’s not a priority, but neither is it a race to the bottom - I really, really miss travelling. I miss gigs and ballets and the theatre. So all in all I’ve found it to be a fairly torrid year.

AvonCallingBarksdale · 23/03/2021 13:27

to all who have had bereavements.

trevthecat · 23/03/2021 13:37

Me and my partner got to spend some real quality time together. We've grown so much closer and out communication is so much better. I've started a degree, a great placement and joined st John's ambulance as a vaccinator! I've been very lucky. But my mental health has taken a beating, I can't watch the TV today with all the clips of the last year. I'm not ready yet. I've found the change very hard

Ghostlyglow · 23/03/2021 15:01

I just exist now. Got my first jab today though, hopefully the end is in sight.

Flippyferloppy · 23/03/2021 16:19

[quote Cowbells]@Flippyferloppy - It might not be easy or financially viable but you are allowed to travel to visit dying relatives. If you are concerned they are frail, you could start to make plans.[/quote]
Thanks Cowbells, but as he is not actively dying (just in steady decline) I wouldn't be allowed. I'm also not sure how I could afford the flight + the quarantine costs + the time off work given the quarantine

Dowser · 23/03/2021 17:03

@ReclaimingTheKaren

A year ago, I was pregnant. Now my twins are buried beside the back gate

Oh no! I’m so very sorry.

user1471538283 · 23/03/2021 17:23

The first lockdown nearly broke me because of working long hours, so much stress and the neighbourhood thinking it was a party yet clapping like sea lions every Thursday.

I was annoyed at people assuming staycations were holidays in the uk.

We were never all in it together. My anxiety is still really bad.

We moved and it is much better but im dreading things opening up because my mental health cannot cope with the noise of people going mad.

I've had the jab (and feel rubbish) but I'm desperate to see people and go away.

longtimemarried · 23/03/2021 17:29

A year ago I was burying my husband, we had been married 55 years, its been a terrible year.

Chimeraforce · 23/03/2021 17:40

Wfh continues
I'm heavier
I feel unsupported and stressed with the job. I've accepted that it's a management issue which I cannot change. I know the only solution is to leave but there's no jobs. The only internal jobs advertised are in my team.... Which I want to leave.
Really angry (furious) about freedom and rights being hammered into nothing.
Depressed without holidays and stuff to do out and about.
Sick of seeing white people under represented in TV adverts and radio adverts.
Sick of wokeness infesting my place of work. It's a huge hindrance in getting my job done.
Sick of masks
I'm surviving on pina coladas and Easter eggs with home cooking and bbqs in between.
Eyesight deteriorated so I've now got - 10 glasses.
Sick of my teen carrying the can for all this crap. Only child who's been in school for just 5 days since mid December. Appalling.
Feel lucky to have a job for money but tbh I don't think I'll bother beyond Jan 2022 if it's still like this. The train station is always calling me.

AllDoneIn · 23/03/2021 17:55

I'm leaving a job I used to love but it has ground me to dust, not helped by a year of the media shitting on us and gaslighting us. Yes, I'm a teacher. Yes, I'm about to be an ex teacher.

Whatapalavaa · 23/03/2021 18:15

Have been WFH for the full year. I'm in a new role but very stressed as work is so busy. I really haven't missed socialising or the majority of people in my pre-covid life which has confirmed thoughts that I'm very much an introvert. Thoughts with those who have had losses.

AspergersWife · 23/03/2021 18:18

On the surface not much has changed for us. Thankfully still have our house, cars and 1 person's income. My business has gone down the pan which is the biggest difference for me. DH has loved lockdown. He has his own online business which luckily has managed to keep going, he was always the higher earner and my business fitted around school hours, we just used my tiny income for treats. DH hates being social, always likes to work alone at his own office, and didn't have any social hobbies such as gym etc. I've had to not see any friends, not attend my gym, not earned my own money, and been stuck with 100% of the homeschooling. And our son has had an awful time during lockdowns, he struggles with anxiety anyway and is sensitive to change, and has just been diagnosed with Aspergers too - which has explained a lot of his behaviour and mental health issues from the past year.

badlydrawnbear · 23/03/2021 18:27

In many ways life hasn't changed. I still have my job (keyworker, had to leave the house several times a week to go there and see other people), DH still has his job but now works from home, DC have attended school at least once every week in term time due to my job (they went on days that I was at work and were at home doing home school on other days), I didn't have hobbies or friends I regularly met up with anyway, we are lucky enough not to have been bereaved of family members. It's still been hard with DH at home all the time and unable to go out and do the things he enjoys, and home schooling DC even part-time has been very hard. Entertaining DC without swimming/ shops/ cinema/ being able to meet up with friends and family/ museums etc etc has been hard. My mental health has deteriorated and my marriage has fallen apart, but I am not sure that covid is entirely to blame for either of those.

Shoxfordian · 23/03/2021 18:27

We moved house last May in lockdown, managed to see a few people here and there in the summer. Been working from home all year and so has my husband. Been a bit weird spending so much time together but good

V0lcanicTYRE · 23/03/2021 18:51

This time last year I was abroad on holiday
Traveled home earlier than planned
Company has permitted WFH for a year
Instead of long distance travelling, I've explored the local area
Waiting to see what the future holds

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