What has lockdown highlighted to you about your life?

[Ilovetea09]

Morning. I'm on day 54 of self isolation now. We are stuck in groundhog day and The kids are finding homeschool difficult and they miss their friends.
But we have been so lucky with the weather and to have a garden and are trying to make the best of it. We camped out there the other night which was great fun. Something we would never normally do. My husband is still working but when he's home I've noticed we've spent a lot more time together as a family which has been nice. Just doing simple things like playing outside, playing with toys.
We have been getting more exercise than we usually would which is a positive. We are eating less and spending less.

It has shown me how much I love travelling and going to the seaside /or on holiday. I really need something to look forward to it seems! And going on days out and the weekend, we really miss that.

But it's also shown me just how introverted I am, and my husband. My husband has always been antisocial, he had a few work friends /aqaintencies, but he's let them slip away and now has none. He says he's perfectly happy with this as hes never enjoyed friends!
Im similar in that I don't have a large group of friends. I have one best friend who I've not seen since February as she's living at a hospital with her sick baby for at least 6 months. My only other friends are school mums who I chat to at the gate. I aren't sad we haven't got friends but it has highlighted it to me when I see on social media people hosting quiz nights with friends and having group video chats etc.
Lockdown has also shown me how we aren't close to other family members and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. We all live locally to each other and we saw my parents and in laws every weekend before lockdown . But it was tedious and I don't have a good relationship with my narcissist father so the meetups were never fun anyway. I feel terrible saying this but to not see them has been quite freeing for me. My anxiety around my father has gone and I feel relaxed for the first time in years.
I don't know what our new normal will be going forward after lockdown but I do know that I want to change some things to live a happier and more fulfilling life than we were.
What has lockdown highlighted to you about your life?

I love to cook and bake and garden and get such pleasure out of simple things.
That my 90 quid a month Leisure centre fee (for me and DH) was completely unnecessary (already cancelled it) and I’m more toned now with home exercising every day and walks, than I’ve ever been.
That I’m really not as bothered about Strictly as I thought I was and don’t give a monkeys if it’s on in Sept or not.
That I spend far too much money at my hairdressers and go too often. Even when they open I’m going to give it at least a month before heading back. And I’ll be spreading out my appointments a lot more too.
That cheaper Loo Rolls are actually better and various other cheaper products/foods, are just as good.

Buying a modestly priced house was a great move. We are only living on one income now and I still have no real worries about money. We are still managing to save.

I'm really glad we have a garden (although I still don't love gardening).

I'm pretty good at basic DIY.

Working from home isn't as good as I always assumed it was. The lack of commute is the only real benefit for me. I miss my colleagues.

they are not selfish, they don't make the rules so they are allowed to wish whatever they want. It doesn't mean they would impose it if they were the ones to decide!

Im an introvert and don't miss friends and family much. If i had the cash id jack it all in and be an artist. That health is wealth.

That my friendships are genuine and to be celebrated, I really never knew how solid they were and how much joy they give me. I guess I find myself surprised that I do have friends.

That I have served myself very poorly and that I can be and must be more ambitious.

That moving my child to another school was a great move. The new school is extraordinary in the way it embraces the community.

That we should get the dog we've longed for. That we should live near mountains and coast.

That I am much more lazy than I thought

I love living in the countryside.
I’m unsociable.
😂

@riotlady your post really made me smile, I'm really happy for you!

That I need an income (and a job to create it) in order to pay the bills. I haven't got this now.

That I deeply resent being told what to do.

This lockdown is completely hideous.

That I love being single and child free.
That I am at peace being alone with my dog.
That it hasn't taken me till my 50s or older to realise the above, which you read often on here.
That I am very privileged to have a house with a garden and to live amongst quiet neighbours who respect one another.
That I am surrounded by lovely green walks and spaces.
That I love my friends and family very much.
That I spend too much on food.

That my normal life is really hard and I’m not looking forward to going back to it. This lockdown stuff isn’t ideal either, but it’s nice just not having to deal with the world right now.

That I love nature
That sunshine plays a big part in my mood
That my children need more quality time with us
That my children can play well together
That I have a few treasured friends
That I really like my work colleagues but they're just that - colleagues
That I'm not close to my family, although really I knew that already
That there are loads of people living on my street I didn't know
That even though I often compare our lives to or friends' unfavourably, we are still very privileged. I feel grateful that we have a house, garden, live near green spaces, have nice neighbours, and at least one secure job

That I am perfectly happy with my own company...as long as there is a cat about.

My life hasn't changed much during lockdown. I've been amazed at how many people are struggling and desperate to see their mum/ family/ friends. I can't relate to any of this and I'm pretty sure no one is missing me.

Not sure how I feel about that. I never thought I'd end up living alone, and while I'm totally used to it, lockdown is making me question how shut down my emotions really are. I seem so far removed from the 'norm'. My boss keeps telling me how resilient I am, but I don't know how else to be - there's only me to look after me.

I'm a little bit in shock to be honest and maybe it's something I need to look into once this is over.

How small my life is...and lockdown has not really changed it.
Similar to others, go to work, come home, rinse and repeat.
However now my freedom of choice has been taken away I actually feel restless and want to go out, even to the shops when actually I never shop as a past time.
The reality is even though I manage to only do a food shop once a week I find the queuing unbearable even in normal circumstances, I may end up starving because I would rather do without.
I am trying to find pleasure in the small things, I will sit outside and hopefully read a book in peace later and enjoy my small garden.
I want to go to the beach, but even if it were not lockdown the traffic would prevent me, so no change there.
I know I am lucky that I own my home, I have a job, paid for my car outright and can get by on my earnings.

That the skin problems I have been having are made worse by makeup and that I was in a vicious cycle of wanting to cover my skin every day, but it caused more spots.
My skin is clearing up due to all the sun and zero makeup.

That I go distracted without my swimming and am going to be taking up wild swimming.

That my DH is worth his weight in gold.

That mindless following of abitrary Rules has all manner of detrimental effects on society.

That my garden is one of my favourite places to be (even though I miss the sound of the sea).

That history has been proven correct on the point that a system without room for debate or questioning is a definite problem.

That I love my home and am grateful for all the beautiful walks surrounding it.

That policing other people's behaviour and appointing yourself Neighborhood Prefect is right up there with smoke polluters, noise pollutors, and people who write cowardly anonymous notes. I.e. showing zero consideration for the circumstances of others.

That ostentatious public displays of solidatarity, gratitude or patriotism are not my thing.

That my life sans Coronavirus had its inconveniences, but overall I'm happy with the way it is.

Not read the posts. The lockdown has high lighted for me my great dissatisfaction with the management of my block of flats. The lift is not working and deliveries of food get left downstairs and I can hardly manage to take them up to my flat! Also I have a vast amount of cardboard boxes to dispose of!

That we do too much ‘stuff’ that we think is for the kid’s benefit and actually they’d generally rather just hang out with us then go from one activity to another.
That I spend so much money on crap, but also I was worrying too much about money and didn’t spend on big things like holidays which are so worthwhile for mind body and soul, if you can afford.
That my husband and I have problems that I hope we can fix.
That the number of friends I have who are real friends is probably less than I think, and that I’d like a closer relationship with my siblings and parents, but I struggle to find the time and energy.
But mostly that I may never go back to jeans.

I would say my independence as I'm pregnant so I can't go to Asda or tesco really boring stuff but I miss picking my own food items looking at the products haha I sound so boring!
I've realised how much I dislike my assistant manager at work how he constantly undermined me and belittled me daily and how it affected my state of mind and I didn't realise as I put up with it for so long it was like having an abusive partner and you get used to walking on egg shells daily I'm so much happier I am not having to deal with that atmosphere.
I've realised I never saw people as much as I thought anyway and that I miss my mom

I miss my lovely neighbours
Shitty neighbours on our attached side are always arguing, fighting and smoking weed.
The rest of the houses are all bungalows with old people so no social side.
This was really highlighted yesterday when I saw lots of friends having street parties or socially distanced neighbourly drinks on Social media and I realised that we will never have that here.

Thanks

I’ve realised three things. Firstly we’re very privileged. Secondly we’re probably bonkers. Thirdly, I really adore my husband and am very glad that he’s the person I’m going through this all with. DH and I have both been able to continue our things with minimal disruption despite impulsively jumping ship to another country at the last minute for the duration of the U.K. lockdown. The homeschooling business has been a bit of a pain but our school seems to be pretty cool with our lack of interest at this point. Now that things are opening up where we are it will be less inconvenient and it also looks like I’ll be able to take some time off anyway after I’ve finished my current period of study leave which will make everything much easier. Ok, we might not be able to get back to the UK if things get worse but I guess we’ll just enroll kids into a local school and I’ll get a local job (assuming I’m not permitted to work remotely long term). No big deal. The thought that I could be stuck in the U.K. right now with some guy who is freaking out over loosing his job or house priced crashing or something makes me realise just how lucky I am.

How much I take my Independence for granted and also how much I take my hairdresser for granted too 😩

Ok bit of a weird one, but I have anxiety, and at work, my underarms and err, private area get absolutely soaked in sweat, (it doesn't smell, thankfully). I have to wear liners and underarm pads all the time just to speak to people outside my family.
During lockdown, I have been completely dry! Not sure how to combat this when I go back to work!!

I agree with some others, we clearly waste money. Despite spending more at the supermarket (or it feels like we spend more but as we are going once or twice a fortnight maybe not but we have saved £2,000 since this stated. We are saving petrol (maybe £170 a month for two of us) and bus fairs and after school club but non of that totals £1000 a month.

I hope we continue the reduced spending habits!