Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think 2021 isn't going to be the amazing year we all want...

203 replies

Skyshale · 12/12/2020 03:40

...or am I being massively pessimistic?

Everyone is going on about next year, saying it will be amazing and that we can all travel again, see family and be as normal.

But the virus isn't going to think "Oh, look, the clock has struck 12 on New Years Day. I'm gone now...BYE EVERYONE forget I ever existed".

AIBU to think 2021 isn't going to be the amazing year we all imagined?

Can I just say (I've had a few wines and my thoughts are running away with me) I would LOVE 2021 to be an amazing, incredible year for us all but a horrible dark side of me thinks it ain't going to happen...

OP posts:
LuckyNumberThirteen · 12/12/2020 08:31

I said something similar once and someone laid into me for suggesting others were stupid.

I wasn't. I just said things won't magically change on January 1st. It's still going to be shite.

MistletoeandGin · 12/12/2020 08:32

@LuckyNumberThirteen

I said something similar once and someone laid into me for suggesting others were stupid.

I wasn't. I just said things won't magically change on January 1st. It's still going to be shite.

Has anyone said things will magically change on Jan 1st though? That’s probably why you were accused of suggesting others were stupid. Because no one thinks that.
TheTrashBagIsOursCmonTrashBag · 12/12/2020 08:33

I want this year to be over, it’s been an absolute shower of shite even without covid. But no, I’m not massively optimistic about 2021. I get round this by refusing to think about what will happen next.

onedayinthefuture · 12/12/2020 08:36

Well this is fucking depressing. Just like an addict, I keep coming back here. Reality is, A LOT of mumsnet is an anxiety depression breeding ground. Life will be a hell of a lot better for anyone who has any worries in life to stay away from online forums.

Doilooklikeatourist · 12/12/2020 08:36

I think next year will be better than 2020 , almost like a recovery year , and by 2022 things will be back to normal ( a new normal , maybe )

CoraPirbright · 12/12/2020 08:37

If anyone thinks that on the stroke of midnight at New Year, everything is magically going to get better then they are morons. It’s a virus not Cinderella! However, at some point, of course things are going to start looking up! We have various vaccines coming online and anyway, all pandemics blow themselves out and come to a natural end at some point. This is not going to be how life is from now on.

Can’t abide pessimists. You have one life! If you want to spend it mired in misery then that’s up to you but I think it is the most terrible waste.

InglouriousBasterd · 12/12/2020 08:38

@Jocasta2018

I believe that 2021 is not going to be a great year for anyone & I don't believe I'm being pessimistic just a realist. Vaccines are coming out for Covid which is a massive positive and hopefully that situation should improve. However there is the not-so-minor matter of the rest of the nation's health as a whole. This year treatments have been delayed, postponed or ended, people have not been receiving primary healthcare, they have not been referred or getting diagnosed. The NHS in this country was put on hold to deal with Covid & the resulting health issues & deaths from non-Covid issues will make the figures from Covid look like a walk in the park. And this to the fact that GB is teetering on the edge of a political & economic abyss. We have no idea how Brexit is going to play out but as a country, we're in for a rocky ride. Oh & we have a government that is utterly incompetent. 2021 will hopefully see the tapering off of Covid however all other health issues will come to the fore & Brexit will be a day-to-day reality rather something that can be put off or dealt with tomorrow.
Yes to all of this! I suspect 2021 will be worse for most when Brexit - especially no deal - hits a struggling economy and population.
rc22 · 12/12/2020 08:39

I think it's going to be a generally rubbish year although I am optimistic that by this time next year, we will be in a much better place with coronavirus. I do wonder how a no deal brexit might be affecting us all by then though.

Hellomoonstar · 12/12/2020 08:40

I’m reserving my celebration for when family and friends become able to visit their loved ones in hospital. We got a long while until that happens to protect everyone involved. I don’t want to rush it but I understand it will be a long while yet.

Being able to visit our dear ill people, to brightening up their day and ours. Human touch is very important.

To get to that point, covid would need to mutate itself or we would need to get better more comprehensive test that show the results almost immediately. Then the staff and patients could get full confidence we are not carries of covid. Imagine a test like that?

Benjispruce2 · 12/12/2020 08:41

Yabu. Of course it’s not going to magically be alright on 1st Jan! But there is hope in the form of a vaccine roll-out. I’m optimistic that come spring we will be in a much better place.

Perfect28 · 12/12/2020 08:41

2021 will not be better, even if everyone is magically vaccinated by spring we are facing a no deal brexit with all the implications that brings.

Benjispruce2 · 12/12/2020 08:42

@onedayinthefuture totally agree.

Lovemusic33 · 12/12/2020 08:44

I think January and February are going to be pretty bleak, there’s going to be a lot more deaths especially with people mixing over Christmas, cases are on the rise already so it’s pretty likely there will be a huge peak after Christmas. I don’t think we will see much improvement until the summer. So yes 2021 will not be amazing, though the 2nd half may be more returning to normality but we will be picking up the pieces for quite a while.

Fizbosshoes · 12/12/2020 08:48

My Ddad died in late 2019, after being very unwell since the summer.
We did feel really positive about things being better in 2020....and look how that turned out. I'm generally quite a pessimistic person but I have to hope 2021 is better.

I'm not sure anyone is under the illusion change will happen (WRT covid) overnight on NYE. I've literally heard noone that thinks that!

I saw a stat on here that (IIRC) if 20% of (the most vulnerable) people were vaccinated, it would cut deaths by 94%. So im under no illusion everyone will be vaccinated anytime soon but hopeful that the elderly and vulnerable might be protected.

However I think the first 2 months of the year, at least will be more of the same, possibly even another short lockdown of sorts.

Lemonsyellow · 12/12/2020 08:49

Even those in the top priority won’t be vaccinated by spring. Maybe by summer.

loulouljh · 12/12/2020 08:49

I think there will be a gradual improvement..I suspect early 2021 may feel a little bleak but come Spring and warmer weather things will have improved alot. Restrictions will be eased (and people will be so over it all they won't be abiding anyway).

kirstinm · 12/12/2020 08:52

@Dongdingdong

Anyone thinking 2021 will be completely back to normal from 1 Jan could be in for disappointment!

Literally no one with half a brain cell thinks this.

This! I literally don't know anyone who genuinely thinks this - maybe a little bit of 'new year, new start' which is surely understandable.

I don' think 2021 is going to be perfect, but I do think it is going to be better.

GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 12/12/2020 08:52

Well the US president will be sane so that’s an improvement.

But in UK Brexit is going to hit home and I think cause lots of problems for businesses that are already struggling.

Covid 19 I think will get slowly better once vaccines are rolled out. Hopefully one of the logistically easier vaccines will be approved so vulnerable people in care can be easily vaccinated without going to hospital.

Frenchdressing · 12/12/2020 08:53

Science has produced, in record time, a vaccine. That is amazing. How can you not feel optimism? Yes, there will still be months of restrictions but there is light at the end of it. For the sick and vulnerable it must feel like a life saver.

DontStopThinkingAboutTomorrow · 12/12/2020 08:53

It's what you make of it. 2020 hasn't been terrible for me, although I appreciate it has for many.
We have a vaccine that has started to be rolled out. We have better treatment options that we did in March, and they will continue to improve as scientists learn more.
Basically, we start 2021 in a much better position than we did 2020, when all we knew was that a new virus was emerging in Wuhan.

Deelish75 · 12/12/2020 08:54

I am optimistic for 2021 but I realise that Jan and Feb are going to be grim and a slog. I think as we go through the spring it will slowly start getting better. Hopefully the vaccination program will be well under way and the days will be getting warmer and brighter.

We’ve got the postponed Olympics and Euros coming although I don’t believe we’ll see them being shown on big screen to crowds of people within city centres. But I do believe small gathering will start to become more normal. I’ve not heard about anything of the normal summer festivals.

I see us going into the autumn very differently next year. I’ve heard of a couple of big concerts that are planned. I’m looking forward to next Halloween and Bonfire Night and then the build up to Christmas. I believe the next academic year (2021-2022) will be a lot more stable.

2021 - an emergence.
2022 - boom we’re here.

RaspberryCoulis · 12/12/2020 08:54

But the virus isn't going to think "Oh, look, the clock has struck 12 on New Years Day. I'm gone now...BYE EVERYONE forget I ever existed".

But nobody is saying that. That's just your interpretation on it,. It's more about recognising that 2020 has been utterly shit and 2021 is going to be a lot better. Perhaps not immediately, but by Spring things will be on the up.

DontStopThinkingAboutTomorrow · 12/12/2020 08:54

That doesn't mean I think 2021 is going to be great. Brexit is my main worry, not Covid at this point.

User158340 · 12/12/2020 08:55

January is recipe for a perfect storm of misery with Brexit fall out, horrible weather, post-Christmas blues and a surge in cases caused by the festivities which the NHS will have to deal with and a probable lockdown.

However, get to Easter and things should be looking a lot better as long as people are sensible and realistic. We can't just open everything up at once and lose all restrictions.

museumum · 12/12/2020 08:59

I’m looking forward to 2021 and I’m optimistic but I’m looking forward small wins. I’m not expecting anything but lockdown in January. I’m definitely not booking skiing fir Feb half term but am hoping our household can get a hotel break perhaps. I’ve booked camping for April. And hoping we can take a ferry to the continent by July (but accept that might not happen).

Most of all I’m optimistic that the small tourism business I work for will reopen in March and be busy with domestic tourists on staycation.