things you realised in lockdown that you're surprised you never noticed before??

[NoviceNewMN]

Working from home made me realise how low level subtly grindingly misogynistic alot of the men I work with are and how I am undermined every day without ever noticing when I was there - because it comes under the guise of cheerful chat that is blink and you miss it stuff. When you are out of it, life becomes lighter and happier.

I also never noticed exactly how much ££££ I spend on travel.

[MyrtlethePurpleTurtle]

How kind people are and what lovely people live in my street - only took a global pandemic and lockdown to make me realise that

[MyrtlethePurpleTurtle]

How much I like going into the office and the mind numbing monotony and relentless slog of WFH

[groovergirl]

@languagelover96

French.

Ah bon, c'est super! My DD did an online course with the Alliance Francaise to help her with French at school. She really wants to speak it and to go to Paris. Last week she got A+ for a school test, and she's rapt. This online thing really works!

[pombear4949]

@alphasox How little relationship is left between my husband and I. We get on better when we are both just passing children around and organising life admin.

////////<br /> totally this. This is all my H and I do now between us.

[languagelover96]

French.

[CornedBeef451]

@theDudesmummy that's really lovely! I hope your son enjoys all his classes.

[Stirling2701]

How I don't miss socialising nearly as much as I thought I would at the start of lockdown, and what a relief it is not to have to go out to certain social events.

[Buggersticks]

What a great post, and what truly lovely things most people have discovered ❤️

[DoveOfPiss]

How little my supposed friends have been in contact. I have rung, left messages, texted to no avail. Now I'm like hmm if they can't be arsed, neither can I.
I have two friends who have received and provided support over the last 18 months. I can live with that. Quality over quantity.
I really really want a dog again. My cats don't satisfy this need I have for love and motivation to get out of the house. Maybe I'm just lonely.
My children (19, 16, 14 and 12) have worked really well through home schooling, eldest passed A levels last year and DC2 passed GCSE's this August. I'm so damn proud of them all & so grateful that their MH hasn't suffered like some of their peers.
I graduated with a 2:1 despite home schooling said 4 children, and the work ethic I modelled for them in the 1st lockdown with my uni work served them well in the 2nd when I had started my new job and they were left to get on with it all day every day.

How much shit I have accumulated, how much stuff I buy and how little of it I actually need. I now have 'amazon-free months' where I try not to buy anything.

How much I hate going shopping, I'd much rather go for a walk.

Sorry this is so long

[InTheWrongRoom]

profpoopsnagle my kids are stalwart consumers of Pom Bears and I have never noticed this little snippet of yours - going to the cupboard now to open a pack and check!!!
What a hoot!

[TheGrumpyGoat]

@pinkstripeycat

How much better I was able to feed my family and now I’m back at work it’s all rushed meals again. Makes me so sad

Opposite for me. Having 2 primary aged children and a toddler at home while also doing a full time job from home meant we are far more fast food than usual. I had to use my lunch breaks to home school so I didn’t have time to eat properly.

[pinkstripeycat]

How much better I was able to feed my family and now I’m back at work it’s all rushed meals again. Makes me so sad

[stuckdownahole]

I learned something that I find worrying. If you put fear into people, authoritarian government can thrive.

The UK's bumbling mess of a PM and his bunch of merry twats created a bunch of illogical and ever-changing rules, and people not only followed them to the letter but eagerly policed and denounced each other. In fact, there were a large contingent who wanted more rules.

Shop staff became gatekeepers who decide when you will be allowed into their establishment and on what terms. It's chafing to be on the wrong end of such a power relationship with people who control access to something that you need, like border guards or doctor's receptionists. Suddenly, I was consciously on my best behaviour a lot more often. You don't dare show a flicker of irritation at the person who puts their arm out to stop you approaching.

We became a much less free society very quickly but many were in favour because they were given sweeteners. No need to come in to the office - in fact for many no need to do your job at all for months, but you can still collect most of your salary. If our government had malign intentions, most people would have been wilfully blind to them.

I fell through the cracks because I'd left a job less than a month before lockdown started and had savings that were earmarked for major repairs to my house. So I got no money whatsoever. It felt like 1984, with the Party workers complacent and obedient in their enclosed environment, and anyone who didn't fit in the system outside the walls.

It wouldn't take much to tip this country, any country, into a dictatorship. That's what I was surprised by.

[BatshitCrazyWoman]

(back in the office now, and loving it)

[BatshitCrazyWoman]

How much I like and enjoy the company of my colleagues.

That I don't do 'dressing down' or lounge wear.

That I miss the office.

[flashy44]

how much i never missed people visiting me doing my head in with their boring mundane details of their lives.Also the postman or parcel delivery not knocking on my door as they just left the package in my front porch

[wantanotherdog]

I realised that my 92 year old dad is an amazing man. He moved into a retirement apartment during the first part of the pandemic, had to remain in his apartment for the first 2 weeks (company rules) and then all apartment block activities were cancelled so he didn't meet anyone. He's a really sociable person so this would have been very hard. But - he never complained, was unfailingly cheerful and positive minded.
That I really love my husband, but he likes doing different things to me and spends a lot of time in his study so I missed hanging out with my friends more than I can say.
That I wish I had a dog again.
That I really love my church and telling bible stories in a way that engages children is really satisfying.
That amateur dramatics should be prescribed for the whole population. It's the most fun you can have without being arrested.
That I love Mumsnet.

[VK456]

How idle I am and how much I procrastinate.

[Toomuchtrouble4me]

@DeborahAnnabel

How much I’ve missed spontaneous holidays abroad. I got abroad twice in the summer of 2020 and three times in 2021 but it didn’t feel like enough and the endless forms and tests took some of the joy out of it.

I love working from home.

I love the fact that evenings feel long and productive and not just arriving home from work exhausted, dinner and killing time waiting to do the same all over again the following day. And the day after that.

That I absolutely love London and would never live anywhere else (in the UK)

I think you might be me 😁
When London is heaving and smelly and diverse and crazy, I just love it more than ever, never ceases to change and amuse and a silent, still London was just so so wrong.

[Toomuchtrouble4me]

I learned to love gardening so much - how neglected my garden was.
But I also learned that I am really very much a people person and I have wonderful friends.

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

@profpoopsnagle

There are 3 sorts of Pom Bears. One that has both hands up, one with both hands down and the third is one hand up, one hand down.

You win the pandemic

[DeborahAnnabel]

How much I’ve missed spontaneous holidays abroad. I got abroad twice in the summer of 2020 and three times in 2021 but it didn’t feel like enough and the endless forms and tests took some of the joy out of it.

I love working from home.

I love the fact that evenings feel long and productive and not just arriving home from work exhausted, dinner and killing time waiting to do the same all over again the following day. And the day after that.

That I absolutely love London and would never live anywhere else (in the UK)

[DontWiltMySpinachPlease]

How much I cherish my lovely little village.

[Nuttyslacker22]

Actually enjoying life on my own rather than being with a selfish partner who hoarded toilet roll, as did her whole family!! They were actually quite proud of it 😵‍💫

[Gingerwarthog]

Was shocked by how little I miss travelling abroad. Like a previous poster I am a key worker (so is husband) and my parents were a Godsend.