To miss lockdown

[globula]

Just that really.

This is my personal view and experience and I cannot comment on the suffering the COVID situation brought to many people however for me it was great (of course the reason for lockdown wasn't great, JUST THE EXPERIENCE of it).

I have a 0hrs contract with NHS but working on a non COVID ward so was able to pick up full time hrs last year resulting in more income (normally only able to do 2 shifts per week due to lack of childcare) and didn't feel unsafe or uncomfortable if anything it was easier with less patients, no visitors and limited visits from other agencies). DH was off on furlough staying at home, doing diy, garden and helping to homeschool.
I loved having DCs here to homeschool- actually think they learned way more at home than they do at school on regular basis- and overall we had more time to spend as a family and enjoy each other's company as there was no external stress and pressure.

We don't have family around and don't go out very often anyway so I wasn't bothered by places being shut.
I loved the empty streets, buses, trains and supermarkets (maybe I just don't like ppl I don't know).

So overall for me it was brilliant. I realise that I sound extremely selfish and wouldn't say it to anyone in RL however my intention isn't to diminish anyone's hardship just needed to share how I feel.

You say: I miss doing the activities.

I say: do them anyway

You say: I do do them anyway

I say: Job done. Crack on

It was like time stood still in a way, with the first and only 'real' lockdown . People only going out for their exercising for an hour a day etc.

I bet all those people who went for walks haven't kept it up.

I wasn't furloughed, but at my workplace there seemed to be a collective downing of tools. I think if I did an hour a day that would be pushing it.

Do I miss it? Yes, I think I do. I didn't do anything amazing in that time..just 'stopped'..and that was good.

I do think lockdown was so beneficial for women as a whole

and this, if you'll pardon my french, is the biggest load of blinkered, entitled shit I've ever read in my life.

Women were overwhelmingly left with the raw end of the deal during lockdown. Financially, emotionally, socially, in terms of their childcare obligations, in almost every way lockdown set women's progress back decades.

More likely to be exposed to COVID (through the NHS or teaching roles). More likely to lose jobs. More likely to be stuck home-schooling, on top of often doing a FT job too. More likely to be stuck with the majority of the domestic work.

Anyone who seriously thinks it was a good thing for women needs a serious reality check.

Ah yes I forgot that one… women were far more likely to be exposed to Covid during lockdown. But yeah, absolutely brilliant for them

It depends on your circumstances during lockdown.

I miss aspects of it. DH was WFH, I'm a carer and SAHM, we have four DC, a house with a fairly large garden, and we live semi-rural with lots of open spaces/woods/coastline within walking distance. We got supermarket delivery slots without much difficulty, some weird and wonderful substitutions in the early days but nothing too bad. Our income was unaffected. The weather was nice. We did some back garden camping, had the paddling pool out a lot, went hiking a lot, to the beach a lot, nature walks, lots of barbecues, lots of nights around the fire pit, movie nights, epic games of hide and seek around the house and garden. All lovely stuff.

The not so lovely things though were awful to deal with. Two children with additional needs who could not deal with homeschooling so trying to get them to sit and learn was horrific, I ended up abandoning it all by June and declaring the summer holidays had started. My DD sobbing because her birthday party was cancelled and she'd been looking forward to it, then because our family holiday got cancelled, then the rescheduled dates got cancelled, and because she missed her friends, and she missed her theatre classes, the show she was rehearsing for got cancelled, it was a series of disappointments for her and she was too young to process it. My youngest DC crying because there was no softplay, no library, no McDonald's, no park, no trips to see Nana.

It depends on your circumstances during lockdown.

It does, of course, depend on your circumstances. And its not anyone's fault if they lived in a five bedroom mansion without a job or financial worries.

But I really really wish the people who spent halcyon days skipping through abandoned parks with their rosy-cheeked children before crafting all afternoon with them would stop with the wide-eyed "I miss lockdown" stuff.

If you enjoyed it, good for you but a period of dignified silence on your part would do those of us for whom it was utter torture a massive favour. Thanks.

@YellowandGreenToBeSeen

Cheers *@CloudPop*. It’s all on the up! Thank goodness for the vaccine!

👍

@TheKeatingFive

On the corona board of misery, you agreed that key workers should be forced to live apart from their families for an entire year. You said "it would be a hard year, but worth it for zero covid".

I’m starting to wonder why we all continue to engage with this particular poster.

She is more ridiculous with every passing comment.

I can never decide if she’s just on the wind up.

I agree with you there @TheKeatingFive
And agree with your comments too @thepeopleversuswork

I know that we can’t have another lockdown, for many good reasons and I know for many it was a terrible experience but I can’t help but miss it.

I am an introvert and loved having a excuse not it do things without people trying to convince me otherwise. Now there are loads of events happening which I don’t want to do but feel awful saying no.

I think most people who enjoyed it, are very privillaged. Working from home, didn't lose their jobs, were not on the front line, had savings.
Good for you in that case.

For a lot of other people it was a fucking nightmare. My partner lost two jobs, the second time didn't qualify for JSA, leaving us with no money to live on other than the small benefits I recieved and due to a massive cock up somewhere along the line, we didn't recieve HB, so are now in a shit ton of rent arrears. Added to this my PIP was stopped during the first lockdown, so we lost that money as well.

I hated homeschooling with a passion and despite the fact I could have taken my son in, tried to continue with it, sinking me in further into depression.

Also, I have GAD, so have successfully socially distanced or not left my house for months at a time. It is possible to do, you just have to get the right mindset, mine was a mental health disorder, but I am sure others can do it without that if they put their mind to it.

The furlough / working through / working at home debate is interesting though and very much depends on circumstances.

My DS had to work throughout, working overtime for no extra pay as they had furloughed half the staff. However as someone who is really sociable, and struggles sitting around with nothing to do, he was so grateful to be in work, occupied and seeing his colleagues.

His partner was furloughed and really struggled mentally sitting at home alone each day . Not to mention 80% of minimum wage on one of these part time contracts which is normally worked at full time .

Personally I have been enabled to work from home and I love it. I didn't have to home school at the same time though, and I wasn't alone either (DH retired) . I think eventually I'll probably have to return one or two days per week but considering I couldn't believe I was being allowed to do it for 3 weeks initially , and still here , that's fine .

I've always felt sad for the elderly living alone whose families declined to visit because they didn't want to put them at risk .

@thepeopleversuswork

It depends on your circumstances during lockdown.

It does, of course, depend on your circumstances. And its not anyone's fault if they lived in a five bedroom mansion without a job or financial worries.

But I really really wish the people who spent halcyon days skipping through abandoned parks with their rosy-cheeked children before crafting all afternoon with them would stop with the wide-eyed "I miss lockdown" stuff.

If you enjoyed it, good for you but a period of dignified silence on your part would do those of us for whom it was utter torture a massive favour. Thanks.

Come on, no need to exaggerate either. The UK lockdown was shit, I wasn't a fan in any way, some people had it even tougher than others, but come on.. torture? 😂

Everyone is entitled to express an opinion. Fair enough if someone was happy! At least someone was. It would't make my lockdown any more pleasant to know every one else was miserable.

If you need a bit of reality check, open the news about Kabul - or the Uyghur in China, or any hell hole in the world, sadly there are many.

I know that we can’t have another lockdown
can't we?

People said that before the first one, it would NEVER happen.. I wouldn't gamble all my life saving on being more free from now on.

Also, I have GAD, so have successfully socially distanced or not left my house for months at a time. It is possible to do, you just have to get the right mindset, mine was a mental health disorder, but I am sure others can do it without that if they put their mind to it

We have done it. The vast majority of us, anyhow. Doesn’t make it desirable in any way.

I would also have loved it if I was being paid to stay at home and play with my kids, or lockdown meant a nice increase in my income.

In actual fact both mine and DHs jobs went mental as lockdown meant our work got a million times busier. We had children at home and trying to juggle really difficult and emotionally challenging jobs.

YAB massively U.

Some people feel as you do, others had a terrible experience and are really scared by it. Or have had their life change irreparably.

Yanbu for feeling the way you do as you can’t help that. I think it’s best to be sensitive to those who had harrowing experiences and not voice it unless you’re sure of your audience. It can make people feel worse to hear how much others enjoyed it I think.

Some people got months of paid holiday, paid for by the government, who will have to now reduce public spending for the next decade.

The rest of us continued to work, got covid, got covid and died, lost their jobs, lost their homes, got beaten up at home.

Hundreds of thousands of kids missed education and exams and were forced to stay indoors.

There's no debate about what happened. Some got an easy ride. Some didn't.

If you were one of the fortunate ones, for whom the ill wind blew some good, please don't come on here and bleat that it wasn't enough and you want more.

You know the price we paid and you want more?

Come on, no need to exaggerate either. The UK lockdown was shit, I wasn't a fan in any way, some people had it even tougher than others, but come on.. torture?

OK obviously torture is a metaphor as opposed to a literal description.

But it was fucking horrific for me. My daughter came very close to having a breakdown because of my inability to properly support her because my employer refused to recognise my right to prioritise her.

Am I more privileged than a refugee fleeing Afghanistan? Of course. In fact I'm much more privileged than that majority of people in the UK last year because I managed to keep my job and I managed not to get COVID.

And I'm perfectly happy to recognise that lockdown was a break for people who for various reasons struggle with a full-on social calendar.

But if you think lockdown was positive for the majority of women you need your head examined and I stand by my comment that its gratuitously insensitive to post shit like this.

I absolutely LOVED the first lockdown. I'd followed the peepers threads for ages before, so I had a stock of food ready. DH was working. I was WFH with the DC, and doing courses, eating healthily, not drinking, watching fascinating online stuff... I loved it.

*preppers thread, not peepers

Ha OP, I bet lockdown was fun with the state paying your husbands wages and two school aged children around who are fairly self-sufficient.

Our situation was self-employed DH, and me looking after a 1yr old and a 2yr old in a flat with nothing to do and no where to go. Horrific.

@Neverrains

Either you didn't get my point or I didn't put it across clearly, I am saying that those who wish to continue with lockdown or socially distancing can and it is possible. In my case it wasn't a choice,

[quote Gimlisaxe]@Neverrains

Either you didn't get my point or I didn't put it across clearly, I am saying that those who wish to continue with lockdown or socially distancing can and it is possible. In my case it wasn't a choice,[/quote]
Apologies, I did misinterpret.

But if you think lockdown was positive for the majority of women you need your head examined and I stand by my comment that its gratuitously insensitive to post shit like this.

you can't talk for the majority of women and men for a start.

And you have to accept that like everything else, a negative is a positive for someone else. That's life. The lockdown wasn't put in place to improve someone's life and give them a little break. So it's not changing anything to your situation that they had a good time.

If nothing else, it means people didn't have such a great life if they cheering having a break from it.

it's boring to have to keep your mouth shut about anything positive because someone else will get upset or offended by it. If you don't like the positivity, maybe go on another thread?

@AlbertBridge

I absolutely LOVED the first lockdown. I'd followed the peepers threads for ages before, so I had a stock of food ready. DH was working. I was WFH with the DC, and doing courses, eating healthily, not drinking, watching fascinating online stuff... I loved it.

OK, so how about maybe just enjoying your good fortune in a quiet and non-goady way? Just a thought...