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Original poster

What did life look like for you two years ago?

102 replies

Promisemeyouwontfollowme · 03/03/2022 11:47

I was wondering and if I’m honest to my shame really hoping they’d close the schools (in a very difficult personal situation.) Listened to the news a lot. Life was just starting to change.

How about you?

OP posts:
Sunshinedreaming2022 · 03/03/2022 13:06

Anxiety was sky high, it was like watching a car crash in slow motion knowing there was absolutely noting you could do and just waiting for the shit storm to happen.
Pretty much the same now tbh, only rather then a pandemic its a war.

Though for light relief I was watching a documentary the other week about preppers that was filmed in like 2014 or something. So many said they were prepping for a pandemic and you could see the interviewer was humouring them whilst thinking they were off their rockers. Just goes to show you should never be complacent

FaceLikeASlappedAss · 03/03/2022 13:13

I wasn't paying much attention to the news carried on with my normal day to day stuff. Prepared for dcs birthday a few days away. Had a fab time. Then after watched the news and thought shit, I hope they close schools because it became a bit scary I guess.
I had a new born baby and dh had just returned to work. So was praying he'd close too. Which he did 2 weeks later

For us though lockdown was OK as I love everyone home. We got to spend loads of time with newborn. Get the stuff done in the house that we hadn't had time for, had all the stuff to decorate every room. Potty train the toddler. And get the garden up together.
. I'd go back to that in a flash (obviously except people being ill and dying) but I mean just all being together no rushing, school, work, kids etc

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 03/03/2022 13:28

Going to my exercise classes until the middle of March
DH took a birthday present to son’s house and had a cuppa in the garden
Panicked about getting food because DH was shielding and we couldn’t get a superma

RowanAlong · 03/03/2022 13:32

Simple, delightful, easy, with an edge of excitement but no anxiety yet. The opposite of two years on!

Hedonism · 03/03/2022 13:35

I was bored of talking about covid, as it seemed to be the only topic of conversation. If only I'd known...

Henryscup · 03/03/2022 13:35

I wasn't arsed at this point TBH two years ago. I thought it would all blow over.

It wasn't until mid March that I took notice. We'd gone out for the weekend for DS1 birthday and everywhere was ridiculously empty. Then the announcement came for the vulnerable to isolate on his birthday. Then the schools closed that Friday.

I still had to go into work. So did DH.

nagsarse · 03/03/2022 13:50

My CEV parents (before that was an official status) had already decided to self isolate 'just for a while, until the worst has passed'. I was trying to talk them through online shopping (they had never done this) and bought them their first smart phone so they could facetime with the DC and their other grandchildren if they want to. I remember the person who served me in the phone shop commenting that she would quite like shops to close for a while as it would be nice to have a couple of weeks off. My parents were not impressed with the phone- they couldn't believe that they'd be isolating for more than a month and were happy just to keep using their landline. Then after a couple of weeks they got a sky high phone bill for calling their older GC on their mobiles from the landline and decided to try out the new phone as I arranged a SIM with unlimited calls.

They actually remained in isolation (some self imposed) for over a year and frequently have group video chats with all the GC [although they still can't quite believe that unlimited chat is true and call me in a panic if they have had a long conversation]

BiddyPop · 03/03/2022 13:51

We had just been to London for midterm instead of going skiing and it was empty. But very happy with that choice when loads of people came home with the virus who had been skiing.

I was moving job and also organising as I could see this moving towards lockdown. I had actually started specific gathering of items in mid-January as news was emerging from China and Italy, I was grumpy as the masks I ordered went from "in stock, delivered in 5 days" before I hit "buy" to "delayed 4 weeks" immediately after, and eventually turned up 5 months after that (I just got my sewing machine out and made some instead to start with).

Thelikelylass · 03/03/2022 13:55

Carried on as normal. No stockpiling or panicking. Carried on going to events until suddenly all the cancellations came in.
Working and using public transport as normal even after lockdown (essential worker) until the building closed.
On the day of lockdown I turned radio 4 off and all news, and tunes into classic FM. It kept me sane!
(Only just started listening to R4 a few weeks ago, but still go to sleep with Classic FM on timer under pillow!)

Crunchymum · 03/03/2022 13:55

Debating whether to have Mother's dDay at my house or my siblings. In the the we cancelled it (Mother's Day was the 22nd, day before official lockdown began).

It was the last Mother's Day our mum was alive.

Foreverlexicon · 03/03/2022 13:57

It was awful. My partner was about to move 300 miles away to help care for her terminally Ill mum. Originally planned for her to spend half the week with me (and to go into the office for work) and half down there.

We ended up only seeing each other for like 6 days in total between March and September. It was a very new relationship and both of us really struggled with our mental health that year so can’t quite believe we survived it.

rhowton · 03/03/2022 14:05

I was doing as much as I could as I knew time would be limited.

We went out around 8 times in March for dinner, to the cinema weekly, and I had my friends over for a weekend for my birthday. My DH and I went to Cheltenham races too. We went out for dinner on Thursday 19th, knowing they were to close the next day.

I am so pleased we did, I think about it often.

On the 20th March, my family (Mum, Dad, Brother and SIL, and my DH and DD's) all decided that we weren't going to stay away from each other during the course of lockdown and continued to see each other on Saturdays. In hindsight, I'm glad we made this decision.

deadlanguage · 03/03/2022 14:09

I’d just got back from a dream holiday in the tropics and was wishing I’d stayed there Grin

crispypear · 03/03/2022 14:16

I was enjoying being a sahm, taking my DD out to loads of toddler classes and as many trips out as we could while they were still open. Once lockdown was announced, we continued to have trips out, just to parks and exploring London on our own instead of indoor venues. We didn't spend much time at home, I was out every day for fresh air and it was nice having the streets and parks to ourselves.

IWantItThatWay002 · 03/03/2022 14:19

Recovering from a C-section & looking after my 1st baby on my own for the 1st time as DP had just gone back to work.

Had only left the house to register baby & meet 1 friend for a coffee. Said friend was an ex nurse & was worried they'd be called back to nursing during a disaster.

LeeHarper5 · 03/03/2022 14:19

My husband had cancer and his health was deteriorating rapidly. I decided to take my child out of school a week before the official lockdown began so we could all shield to protect my husband from covid. My DH died that summer. I’m grateful we got to spend his final months together 24/7.

HopefulProcrastinator · 03/03/2022 14:24

We'd been sent to work from home in February as we had the kit and the company were frantically buying every laptop they could get their hands on to mobilise the entire office based work force.

That was the moment I realised that covid was going to have a big impact.

From an improvement perspective though, I was probably walking less than 2,000 steps a day and was slowly turning into jabba the hutt minus the bounty hunter business but lockdown and a lack of time to myself got me out running. I'm now 6 BMI points lighter and capable of running 10k non-stop. Probably the only positive I have but I'm going with it!

the80sweregreat · 03/03/2022 14:25

Just watching the rolling news really , wondering what would happen and reading mumsnet. I admit, I was scared if this novel virus and what it all meant
I can't believe it's two years on the 23rd since Boris Johnson told us all to stay at home and the schools all shut on the 20th (for the majority of the children anyway. )
I can't remember if the panic buying was in full swing , but I was starting to buy a few extra bits I think? I don't think that was a bad to start with but got worse within a few weeks
My son was sent home to ' work from home' with his computer a few days before full lockdown.
It was a strange time.

Tiredly · 03/03/2022 14:25

I know this is a just before covid and over 2 years ago but I was probably the happiest in my life, had steady money coming in, more holidays planned and a house move, regularly going to the gym so I was at my fittest, kids thriving happy..then covid hit and income stopped, kids became an anxious mess, house prices rocketed so can Jo longer move, no holidays as no money and don't feel like covid is completely over I'm definitely bigger and flabbier as my training took a big hit as dud my diet.

miltonj · 03/03/2022 14:25

@JuneBug94

I was a few days away from my first embryo transfer and hoping the clinic wouldn't close! It did close a couple of days after. Thankfully my now 16m/o DD is running around next to me!

I was full of unknown. A bit of denial and I remember driving to the clinic in Harley street took us no time and the whole of london was a ghost town.
Glad things are getting back to normal now!

Wow that's quite a wild thought, if it had all happened a few days earlier your daughter wouldn't have been born. That's wild, and quite the magical 'birth' story!
MarpleFan · 03/03/2022 14:25

I was on a flight back from a meeting in Amsterdam to plan a birthday party for a client. Was getting a little concerned, but never thought that I wouldn't plan another event for 18 months.

bloodywhitecat · 03/03/2022 14:28

I had a husband and. little did we know the battle we had ahead. Now, after living with a rare and aggressive cancer, then having a massive stroke I am 5 days a widow.

TheDogsMother · 03/03/2022 14:31

Oh @bloodywhitecat I am so sorry for your loss Flowers

Helocariad · 03/03/2022 14:35

Weird atmosphere but continued as usual, mostly. Took DC to a school competition event and a birthday party. People a bit on edge. Was witness at my best friend's small wedding ceremony and had a restaurant meal afterwards. Restaurants closed 3 days later.

We had a 'mockdown' day at work just before lockdown proper, to test our Teams platform. So far so good.

I still can't believe I left the office on the Friday, not taking anything but the most immediately important files with me. Not even my mug or teabags or cards from colleagues.

Felt very odd when I saw it back about 18 months later. Dusty.

bloodywhitecat · 03/03/2022 14:36

@LeeHarper5

My husband had cancer and his health was deteriorating rapidly. I decided to take my child out of school a week before the official lockdown began so we could all shield to protect my husband from covid. My DH died that summer. I’m grateful we got to spend his final months together 24/7.
Flowers It has been an incredibly hard time to deal with cancer on top of all the lockdowns etc.