To ask if you have any positive things in this lock down situation?

[blubberball]

Just thought that it might be nice to think about any positives.
Such as, I don't have to worry about any one dropping round unexpectedly and the house being a mess.

No long commute
Not having to make packed lunches
More time with my children
Have cleaned out cupboards, sorted wardrobes, tidied the garage - a proper spring clean
Made bread for the first time
Weekends aren’t spent chauffeuring my children between one sports activity to another
Don’t feel the constant stress and pressure of needing to rush all the time, much less ‘hurry hurry hurry’

DH having lots of time with the DC and they love it, so does he.
Me and DH having lots of time together and really enjoying that.
Few people around.
No traffic any where.
No shopping.
No sport on tv.
Long walk every day as a family.
Wildlife.
Fresh air.
Cooking with DH - we really like cooking together, chopping, preparing, glass of wine or beer, cooking, eating, chatting, music on.
Quiet outside.
Garden looks good.
No visitors.
Just us.
Time without pressure.
It's a little bubble in our house and I feel guilty about it.

@clutterbugsmum If you're on twitter, a lot of people are doing virtual tours of museums, churches, historic buildings. It's not much more than a few pictures and snippets of information, but it's usually done really well by people who love those buildings.

So many positives. We are lucky to both be furloughed. And from 9th April to 21st April, we have both booked holiday leave, so we won't be going back til 22nd of April for sure. (Even if work restarts in a week.)

Positives...

Not having to see people we don't like, no-one popping in unannounced, not having to go to work, lying in til whatever time we like, incredibly quiet in the village, not having to make excuses to not do stuff/join in with stuff, going for walks together by the canal (10 minutes walk from our house,) doing the garden, catching up on decorating, and painting the shed and the fence etc, watching films together, writing and reading and doing jigsaws and crosswords and playing video games and board games, and generally spending quality time together.

I miss our (adult) DC as they live 20 to 25 minutes drive away, but we skype every 3 or 4 days, and speak on facebook and twitter a lot. And it will be amazing when we do see them. Can't wait to give them a huge hug! (They are furloughed too, and also loving the time with their partners, who they both live with.)

Having more time as a family - eating lunch and tea together, playing games, going for a walk.
Not cooking tea for kids followed by tea for us later (as one of DH or I not usually home until 7.30/8) means less cooking and I'm losing weight (as not eating kids leftovers then my tea - and am eating earlier).
Saving money (as both still WFH but no petrol, meals out, etc).
More time in the garden so hopefully will eventually start looking better.
Realising that DH and I are in a much better place than we have been, when for a couple of periods in the last three years I thought we might be heading for separation.
Not having to get up so early for work.
Have become more grateful then usual - have tended to take for granted our house, garden, technology, etc.
Have discovered more of the area round us as we used to regularly get in the car and drive somewhere for a walk but now have had to discover walks from our front door.
Less pollution.

Spending all day with very day with my children. Perfect!!

Feeling very jealous here reading your replies as I work for the NHS. So, for me, only roads quieter, car park emptier. Otherwise, everything the same, only work more stressful.

Saving a bit of money by only buying food, and by driving less.

DH's commute being a walk down the stairs instead of a 90min (minimum) drive. And then having dinner at 5:30pm with the DC, so we've got more time in the evenings.

Bought Disney+ and quite pleased with the selection! We've also got Netflix and Prime, and both DC are still into Cbeebies, so there's plenty to watch when I'm desperate or fancy a break.

Grass had its first cut of the year a lot earlier than normal We've been going out most days and I usually find something to tidy as well. Sorted the shed today!

Clear skies.
Less pollution. The air actually smells fresh and clean.
Birdsong.
Finally getting a lot of long-overdue work done in the garden.
All of us being able to have dinner together every evening, because we aren't all working different shifts.
DH is finally being able to de-stress from the long hours in his demanding job and start to enjoy the creative side of it again.

All the 'silly' things we do that make us really laugh- the children singing and dancing. DH dancing with them. Their funny conversations. The cats entertaining us by stalking, pouncing on and wrestling the kitchen door mat. DH's animal impressions.

My 12 year old daughter has relaxed and changed so quickly. No FOMO, no school following her home. She's the little girl I started to miss when she started year 7 again.

No gym - only having to wash hair twice a week now.

Less washing!

Getting 8 hours a night when WFH as not having to commute or get a full face of make up on

Being able to enjoy other hobbies that I don't prioritise normally - reading, podcasts, jigsaws, watching films. I usually work, gym, dinner, tidy, bed Monday-Friday.

My house is coming along great. I wrote a massive to do list of all the cleaning and sorting jobs needing done. Most of them are complete. The place will be lovely for the summer.

Quieter pace at the weekends and appreciating time for me. Usually at weekends I'm trying to see a friend, visit family and taking my mum somewhere then trying to do my chores, go to the gym. Although I miss my friends and family, I'm trying to appreciate the time I have to do things for me just now.

Cleaner house

Slower pace.... cooking every meal from scratch

Skin so much better as I'm not wearing make-up

Connecting with old friends who I've not spoken to in a while

This makes me realise how different my life is from a lot of people’s.

My life hasn’t changed that much.

I always had lots of wfh to do anyway so the only real change now is not commuting and not getting properly dressed.

I let the dcs have a pretty relaxed life anyway, activities more ad hoc than scheduled times eg swimming.

I am doing more yoga though which is nice.

Mines a bit morbid and personal to me but...

I've been really really struggling with my mental health the past few years after a few pregnancy losses. I was at the point of considering ending my life at one point.

The Dr had signed me off for a month with a view to extend it again but I'd ended up going back to work against their advice and against the advice of my counsellor because I simply couldn't afford to be off and live on SSP.

I've now been furloughed until June at least and whilst it's a stress in itself, it's also been a blessing in disguise for me as I was seriously at breaking point when I was working.

I'm now taking time to do things at home, do some crafts, cross stitching, taking my dog on a walk for my daily exercise, sitting in the garden, reading books etc... And I feel 10x better already.

So yes, I'm horrified at the suffering other people are going through right now, I'm worried about my job, I'm upset that I'm unable to see my family other than over Skype right now but I am seeing the positives to my own mental health as well.

I'm an introvert so not having to socialise is not a bad thing for me.
The best bit has been bonding with my ds22. We're both working at home so he's my new work buddy. We sit at the dining room table together Monday to Friday each week. Makes me proud to see him busily working away. He's not had it easy as he suffers with really bad anxiety, so it's great to see him acting so confident, mature and happy in his work.
And plenty of time in the evenings to crochet without feeling like I should be out doing something.
I've given dd18 the task of meal planning for us each week. She's supposed to be off to uni in September so this is good for her to learn this and it takes the thought of what to cook away from me. I think this is something I'll aim to continue long term.

Spending more time with DH. And as dark as this will sound, appreciating that life is short and we need to cherish every moment.

About 10 days or so ago, we didn’t get out for our daily walk until after dark. It was a really clear night, and DS and I stood and looked at the stars, looking for constellations. We’ve discovered a love of astronomy, and can now pick out a few constellations, Venus and other “Stargazing 101” features. On clear days, we are saving our walk for the evening.

Spending time with my partner and 14 week old daughter, he’s self employed so went back to work very soon after she was born. Financially this will cripple us but it’s invaluable time we will never get back so I’m trying to see the positives!

This has been a lovely read

I've done a very satisfying declutter.
I've finally got time to get into the garden and I'd forgotten how much I love growing things. It gives me some peace that I don't get from anything else.
I am putting some serious thought into changing careers and going after something that will really make me happy. I thought I enjoyed my current job but something else will make me happier.
I am appreciating certain friendships so much more. My god but I can't wait to hug certain people.
An aspect of my mental health that was dreadful has eased. I've realised I was very wrong about some very negative feelings I had about myself. People dying en masse has made me realise the awful things someone told me about myself growing up are just not true and like hell am I going to carry on doing myself down. Life is too short.

Naps.

I'm saving loads despite working less (freelance).

I've ended up coordinating the local covid response in my corner of London, which now includes working with food wholesalers and surplus stock companies to get free food to people suffering financially. I'm gutted that it's taken a pandemic for this to happen of course, but I've never felt so professionally fulfilled or purposeful in my life. I will have a change of career when this is all over.

My positive is that I haven't had to do a food shop for weeks (I'm not shielding but I am vulnerable). I absolutely hate it and DH does any shopping now

No alarm clock being set

I'm on top of my washing.