to think life is more 'normal' than 'lockdown' now?

[fodderbeet]

Am I right to think that for a lot of people life is now more normal than not for most? Almost everything is open, pools, gyms, shops, restaurants etc. Sport has resumed at a local level, clubs and committees are meeting again, holidays are happening, life is happening again.

Admittedly in the scale of things our lives changed far less than most due to location & occupation and always having a preference for on-line shopping over trips to the supermarket, but I was surprised to hear from a friend that they're still very much in 'lockdown mode' and how restrictive their lives still are.

Am I being unreasonable to think that for most life is more normal now?

Spoke to a friend today who said that they've all been 'much happier' since their preschoolers nursery re-opened. My older DC can't wait to go back to school. It's looking more normal for some, but we're subject to a local lockdown & enduring month 8 of builders working on an extension next door, 7.30-5pm every weekday ( and the odd Saturday). They haven't stopped at all during lockdown and we can only assume they're using tiny tiny tools given it's a small ( 8m x 3m ) single storey build. Trying to work from home ( and thankful I've still got some work to do ), but not being able too get away from the noise and dust, plus my own garden being unusable is getting harder every day - causing some MH issues tbh.
The owners are away (again) in their second home; I'm trying to hang on to the one I've got. And my sanity
So, not normal here at all

@BabcockPeggy ahhh are you still furloughed waiting for that phone call

It's worth checking with opticians, our local Boots and Specsavers are both open now as I got a mailing about it.

Many people seem to be treating it as business as usual. Town is as busy as it ever was, the motorway is ridiculous. We’re still being careful, only going out for essentials etc., but all over social media I’m seeing beach visits, big organised gatherings...

And can't see any family because they live outside my area which is in lockdown; very good friend's business has collapsed as of this morning, lots of others worried about jobs/finances (me & DH included); irritated by local anti-vaxers calling for boycott of any vaccine that gets rolled out ; missed two family funerals; niece's wedding cancelled; haven't seen any friends in person since March; feels anything but normal. Totally depressing.

I am happy to wear a mask in a shop or on public transport or in any other place that it is required by guidelines. However I find it frightening that you would consider this to be almost normal OP.

If you are not back to work yet there is probably a good reason

No job to go back to is usually a pretty good reason.

It’s more normal which is good but not fully normal. Let’s hope we can get to keep it this way at least, I am not optimistic we won’t go backwards

Clearly I meant where the company is still going strong

No. Not at all normal. We have the extra restrictions so can only meet people in small numbers at the park. Can't even sit in their garden, never mind go in their house or meet them at a cafe or pub. My craft class is closed.

4 kids here who haven't been to school at all since March. They aren't going to holiday club at all and the things we often do in the holidays are shut (cinema, inflatable place, soft play).

Wearing a mask for shops and optician appointments etc not pleasant, especially in this heat.

I have to WFH and miss the social contacts at my work place.

Nope. Not even nearly normal!

It’s nowhere near normal. No kids’ activities (and my DD sings and plays a brass instrument, so no prospect of her being able to sing or play with others for the foreseeable future). No spontaneous activities. Still coping with the aftermath of no school since March. No live performance, and I love theatre, opera and ballet. No fucking way is this normal. And if I feel like that as one of the lucky ones (secure job, house with enough space for us all and a garden, DD nowhere near the public exam years and also past the baby and toddler stage), I can only imagine how much harder it must be for some others.

I really struggle to see how our current situation (in the U.K.) can be normal for anyone with kids, anyone who engages with community groups or council run facilities, or anyone who enjoys live culture and sport (music making, theatre, gigs, cinema, kids’ arts activities).

I supposed that mainly that leaves older people, those whose lives are mainly/solely lived through commercial venues and activities, or who don’t engage much in the community.

It is the school holidays so clearly kids wouldn't be at school. We have been to a theme park, the beach, a zoo. So apart from gross soft play it's pretty normal.

We are doing more now than we ever did before. The lockdown made me appreciate things alot and I was quite an isolated person before all this.
I have made a massive effort to take the children out and to meet up with their friends and parents, which has also done me a world of good mentally.
Weve been to the seaside which was wonderful. Been to the zoo. Lots of parks.
Pre covid we had strict visiting routines with family, all that has changed now and I feel alot more relaxed than I ever did.
Hunny has been working from home so we get to see lots of him when usually he's working all the time.
I will be ready for the kids to go back to school in September but I feel pretty happy at the moment. Apart from wearing masks when it's hot weather which I hate

Nothing is back to completely normal and I don’t think it will be for a long time.

But with SD and face masks we are getting back to some form of “normality” (shops open, schools going back to school)

However I am struggling with the companies that still have a wfh work force as it is impossible to deal with these businesses

Atm a company says they will do one thing. It was part of their contract.

Now they are saying that because of Covid everyone is wfh and nothing is getting done so tough.
As one manager (large company who atm have nearly £10,000 of my money) told me. It wasn’t his problem.

Nope.
I still have to WFH instead of being in an office in the middle of a lively city, really missing the contact with work colleagues and the city centre.
No soft play, no library and no swimming pool open. Still no word on whether ds's drama and swimming will restart in September.
After school club will be very limited hours next term so even if the office reopens I won't be able to go there till January at the earliest as I won't be able to get back in time to pick ds up.
Oh and on top of that I managed to catch coronavirus (fortunately asymptomatic) which means that we have only just finished self isolation for 10 or 14 days.
So I'm not finding it very normal just yet.

Not normal for us in Scotland. My young DS has to wear a mask everywhere indoors and it is exceedingly restrictive for him as his glasses steam up constantly. No classes or clubs. School just opened but many many restrictions. Few visitor attractions open (i.e. so few historic scotland sites actually open) or available unless you book weeks in advance. So no, no fun for us.

It's a pretty pointless question really, because it all depends on what 'normal' is normally like for you.

It's been pretty normal for me all along really - I live hours away from family, so don't see them often anyway. I have teenage dc who don't do a load of organised activities. My main hobbies are walking, knitting, reading and other things not impacted by lockdown. I don't like shopping, have occasional takeaways but rarely eat out. I'm struggling to think of much that we we wanted to do but couldn't tbh (except a foreign holiday which was cancelled). My dc liked distance learning and aren't keen on going back to school. Oh and I'm 99% sure I had the virus at the beginning of March, so I'm not too stressed about the possibility of catching it.

But I wouldn't make the mistake of thinking it was like that for all or even most people.

@Jussayingisall

It is the school holidays so clearly kids wouldn't be at school. We have been to a theme park, the beach, a zoo. So apart from gross soft play it's pretty normal.

No holiday childcare available here, plus I can't take leave as my colleagues who would usually cover for me while on leave are furloughed. I'm really interested to know how the people doing normal school holiday stuff are managing work.

It is the school holidays so clearly kids wouldn't be at school. We have been to a theme park, the beach, a zoo. So apart from gross soft play it's pretty normal

Yes this is what I think largely.

Most of our normal child activities pause over the summer anyway, or I can’t go with two of them. I’m finally booking to restart toddler classes and after school activities again from September so that feels pretty normal.

I’ve also done some of the big outdoor activities you mention and they were surprisingly normal.

Not at all here...
I'm back in the office, but we're not doing any sort of trade shows, meetings, conferences, business trips.
Revenue is still massively down (not surprising).
A lot of things I'd normally go to the shops to do, I just don't at the moment -
I still have some non urgent medical issues on hold with NHS due to covid. I'm not seeing my physio or anything like that.
All my regular hobby classes have stopped - I used to spend 3 or 4 evenings at local classes for different things. None can continue at the moment. All on hold.

My gym has only just opened, my class still isn't back (and won't be for a while due to contact issues). I used to go 4-5 times a week to the centre.
One of my main hobbies holds events - all cancelled for now, unable to resume. I have sideline work related which is all cancelled indefinitely.
I haven't seen or booked any live music in months, this is unusual for me. No overseas trips booked.
I haven't arranged to see anyone outside my bubble in since pre-COVID - no idea when I'll next see family friends and extended friends. It's pretty boring although I'm so grateful to have my core circle in my bubble.

So, yeah - my life is completely different to 12 months ago, it's no where near back to "normal".

Not for some of us it isn't! Because of the huge number of people who are ignoring social distancing, not wearing masks etc., for those of us who are/were shielding, it's still pretty shit. But, hey, it seems we're expendable!

How much your life has gone back to 'normal' and what you feel about this depends hugely on individual circumstances

I don't have young children and enjoy working from home with no commute

I don't really shop as a leisure activity . Prefer online anyway . Doesn't bother me having to mask up for 10 mins in the co-op

We normally go out for a meal a couple of times a week. I was surprised how little I missed this during lockdown . I've been quite happy catching up with friends and other family members over a drink in the garden. Have started going out again for meal / drinks recently , mainly outside but have been quite confident when we had to eat inside due to weather . I don't find things like track and trace a major issue. However I suspect that I will feel impact of Covid on this part of my life a lot more as we go into the Autumn.

We've done outdoor activities such as zoo, crazy golf and been on holiday Also had my hair done Don't find that one way signs and staff in masks upset me particularly. There are likely some indoor activities I would normally do on holiday if the weather turned rough that would be a pain now if I had to wear a mask and quite a biggie is that our holiday abroad in September will probably be cancelled

Biggest difference for me is not being able to visit my mum in care home We've done video links which have gone better than I expected but my only visit in person (this week) was upsetting as my mum has dementia and couldn't understand why I was wearing a mask and sitting on the other side of the room I can't see this improving in immediate future either.

Another reason I think I'm feeling that my life is nearer normal than a lot of people is that we are more likely, in normal life, to spend our down time walking in the country with our dog than we are to attend events such as gigs, sports events etc

I do feel for people with families and young children though. Also teenagers . My DS has been lucky being able to work throughout and still be with his GF but he normally would go to concerts . Festivals , sports events etc . At least he can go to the pub now , although I'm not sure how much that's a good thing !