Anyone gained anything good from Covid

[kylie122]

Just curious as just seen a post which asked the opposite

For me I was lucky to work during lockdown and have saved so much money

Hope this post doesn't offend anyone

Oh and if we had gone bust that would've meant 70 odd people out of work.

My first baby.
New perspective on life and what (and who!!) really matters.
What I want from life
I’m in the process of starting up a new business with view to saying bye bye to corporate life.
Lockdown has benefited me greatly.

@Kshhuxnxk

As you've read the other post I do find this offensive - people's lives have been devastated and they haven't even had covid!

As previously stated, the point of this thread is to ask if anything good has come of COVID, we are all aware of the downsides so if you are offended please don't read it.

I can't say COVID has been a non-event for me as it hasn't but apart from a family tragedy it has pretty much resulted in positives rather than negatives.
My mother died (non-Covid) and she had been shut up in her care-home for the best part of a year with no family face to face visits which was very hard on her and us.
WFH is great and is set to continue with Smart Working being introduced when we do return to the office. This has meant I have been able to appreciate the house & garden more (watching the birds & squirrels feed rather than just putting the food out in the morning and seeing empty feeders in the evening).
I think people became more friendly, we noticed lots more people walking in our village and most were more willing to engage than before. Having a dog was a good reason to take long walks in the woods.
Are moving to a new house which has happened DESPITE Covid.
Decided to sell the motorcaravan as having it sat unused for months on end was a waste. The upside however is that we now realise how much we miss it so a new one will be ordered as soon as things settle down.

I for one really appreciate threads like these as they're much less depressing to read just before bed. Obviously I choose what I read and I do read more difficult threads, but prefer to end the day on more positive stories

Get the fire on, that really will hugely benefit your dd! A mad readathon. Being ill with such a small child can be horrendous, but she seems set up for life bejng an early reader has huge benefits.

My DD had started secondary school in Sept 2019 and was being bullied, the lockdown meant the separation from the horrible kids where they lost interest and she had a better start to school when she went back in sept 2020.
More sleep as we all worked from home so had slower mornings not all racing to school and jobs.
DH couldn't travel for work (he used to be away 2 weeks out of every month on average) so he was home and we got to spend more time together as a family.
DH also did a big consultancy project which meant we are financially better off than we would have been before.

Hmmmm.... I mean, I hated it. But it has meant dh can wfh and therefore spends more time with the kids and we have saved a bit of money on wraparound childcare. Flipside, he is quite depressed about working alone in a room for the best part of 2 years and even when he goes in it doesn't really help as he is the only one in the office.

I think I am different to how I was before, perhaps we can all say that as it is such a huge thing to have lived through. I think I experience gratitude more keenly, and I approach my work with more love and empathy than before.

• positive thread.

I could bore you all with plenty of life changing tragedies that occurred to me pre covid? No, covid has been OK for us and thank goodness it has been OK for many people!!

We've had some heartbreaking events, but pandemic or not, life has its difficulties. It's not as if this time would have been without hardship, it's just focused the hardship. For us we've benefited massively in the ways people have said above, readjustment to happier selves in the absence of sensory overload and scaling back on the activities of life.

I don’t have to see friends all the time .can just do things with dd. Use to be kept waiting for ages for some friends to turn up as always late.I’ve run out of patience I just book and go places without telling them.

With people leaving has meant that I was able to step up at work with a senior title and pay rise. Went from a 6 hour contract to 16 which helped us remortgage to save some money on the mortgage. We got the bounce back loan which we set up a small business with. The initial idea didn't work (paid off it's investment) but we diversified and it's lead to a much better income from it (being used to payback the bounce back loan but will only take a year to do that) we managed to get a load of house renovations done.
On the back of all that there has been many may downsides both professionally and personally. But I'm looking at all the positives we have to move forward!

I saved a lot of money, appreciated my children a lot more and grieved the breakdown of my marriage. The lockdowns came at the perfect time for me. I'm a front line worker and worked throughout but being able to avoid all social situations was really welcome.

My life changed a lot and for the better. This wouldn't have happened without the pandemic. That said I have been very lucky not to lose anyone close to me due to the virus.

We saved a lot of money as DH works from home so no commute costs. He has also lost 2 stones
I was freelance, which I liked but the type of work meant it stopped dead with Covid so I got an employed job for the first time in 15 years. It was ok and the money was pretty good but it has now led to another job that I really really enjoy and has huge potential.

Yes. My partner was told he would have to work from home not long after our DC was born which meant he got so much quality time with him (no time commuting) that he never normally would have. Same with my older DC when they closed schools. It was a wonderful time of bonding and being in our own family bubble.
Less of a plus for me, but money was saved on commuting and the general crap you buy on lunch hours / coffees / sandwiches etc.

It has been so tough in other ways but I really appreciate family time so much more as a result. Lockdowns were also a good excuse to swerve some unwanted visitors when we had DC.

The lockdowns themselves were pretty awful for me and my family (lone parent, DCs with SEN), but as we've begun to emerge I've found myself much more grateful for the small things I used to take for granted. Clichéd, I know! I love my home more, I enjoy picking up my kids from school more, I value my friendships more (and have allowed some to drift away on purpose). Most importantly, I finally realised that I needed medication for my depression. I decided it was ok to accept something helpful from a society that has contributed to my depressed, isolated state and not think it was all my responsibility to sort out. That has changed my life - I've now got a great job that I never would have had the confidence to apply for before.

Lots of negatives but a few positives too, more time at home with the kids for both of us being the main one. I managed to get a job at the local vaccination clinic too which has been lovely (hard work at times though), and through this met some fabulous work colleagues who I never would have met in my usual line of work.

Err.... well we've saved money on diesel from DH's commute.

That's about the only positive. And it's totally outweighed by the hundreds of negatives.

Managed to go to work back to work full time after 2 maternity leaves and juggle work/childcare without feeling guilty on not prioritising one or the other. Wfh 3 days, office 2 days. Would never have been possible before as would have had to go in 5 days and therefore either go part time or not see my children all week.

However, I am now sat here with covid feeling worse than I've ever felt in my life so it's not all good!

My life totally changed for the better over covid. Just before it started my life totally fell apart my husband of 20 years left out of the blue. I was extremely unwell. I couldn't afford to live in the house anymore. Several people I loved died and I lost my job.
I decided a total change was new and moved to the west country. I got a new job in the NHS bought a cheaper house and settled in literally a month before covid kicked off. Due to our lack of staff I got promoted very quickly to fill the gaps, got my severe psychiatric condition diagnosed and treated after 50 years and have made loads of new friends. I am finally at peace after years of turmoil and being locked down gave me the opportunity to reflect on and turn my life around 360 degrees. I am finally home.

I developed such a close bond with DD, I concentrated on mine and DH’s family a lot more and we are far far closer now. And after years of struggling with secondary infertility we took the plunge and did IVF and are pregnant. 🤞 I think I may have always thought ‘IVF was too hard’ before but a global pandemic put life in perspective...and gave me the push I needed to try

Saved a lot of money.
Spent more quality time with immediate family.
Discovered some amazing new hikes on our doorstep.
Re-evaluated my social obligations and no longer feel compelled to accept every invitation - or reciprocate.
Got kids to do lots of outdoor painting during first lockdown which has really improved the look of the house.

A few negatives too though ...

Sold our last house for more than we ever dreamed of and bought a 4 bed detached near to my parents so can see more of them

Work from home now which allows me to better manage my medical issues

Saved £38k so far

Got to WFH during lockdown and conceived our first baby. I don't think I would have got pregnant when I did if I wasn't WFH as office life was quite stressful and I was always run down and tired.

DP gets to work from home everyday still so gets to spend so much time with our baby and stops me getting really lonely during the day.

In lockdown 1 we was able to get a lot of work done to our house with all our spare time. We then sold the house and made a good amount of money and then saved on stamp duty due to the stamp duty holiday.

Nothing it has been horrific and my mental health is suffering

My husband works from home now. Which means we see him a lot more. My youngest gets to have lunch with him everyday. My older ones see him after school each day and we all have breakfast and dinner together. He isn’t ‘wasting’ 2.5hours commuting each day. Before he would leave for work at 7.30am and be back between 7 and 9. Often after the kids were in bed. It has been such a blessing to have all the extra time together as a family. I get to work a bit more flexibly and occasionally work from home and our childcare costs have gone down so we have more money.