To ask what you miss about lockdown - light hearted

[Nopurchase]

This is light hearted and OK so I know that this is unreasonable and 100% I wouldnt want to go back into lockdown but there is a part of me that misses that initial feeling of feeling safe and cosy at home with my family (not that I dont now), playing games, no school runs, working from home being able to go out for a walk and it was so quiet and peaceful you couldnt hear any cars and so many birds, this was before all the big restrictions came in. I know it was so hard for so many people and dont get me wrong for us it was immensely difficult a lot of the time mentally and extremely stressfull, but there is a part of me that misses close family time in a bubble.

What do you miss?

I was on maternity leave and my DP was off work with me for a good 4 moths so our son had us both off together from 8mo nths to 12 months. It was a really special time. Lockdown did have its blessings in a way.

I miss people’s constant availability. Ok you could only go for a walk with them, but I really enjoyed that.
I also enjoyed chatting to people on video calls etc - not sure I miss it as such - but there were people I was in more regular contact with then than in our friendships normally.

Yes the soinds of nature were lovely.i would aay that people are even more nuclear family orientated now after the cosy lockdowns which is both good and bad.very isolating for those that did not fit in

Every day was like a Sunday. I loved wearing the mask, you just have to find the right one so that when you inhale you don’t swallow it. No nuisance visitors from the pests wanting to “pop in”, & then they’d stay for 10 hours. You didn’t mind the phone calls either as they couldn’t come 😆 The arrows in the supermarket. When you could eventually venture out, the empty hotels & trains, they still packed ‘em tight in the planes. My new job as a security guard where I patrolled my own home to look out of my many windows in the hope of seeing something exciting. The peace & quiet.

Definitely. Lockdown 1 was glorious. I spent so much time with dd, who was in year 7. It was the last year of spending time together. And of having her friends over in the garden when this was allowed. Making lunch for the, all, chatting about stuff. Dd is a teen now and always in her room.

I don’t look back at it fondly, there were some things we did to make it more bearable, but I’m so glad it’s over and we have normal life back. That alone makes me feel pretty good.

I was fortunate enough to enjoy the lockdowns but it feels really uncomfortable and tone deaf to say that when so many other people suffered so much, both as a result of the virus and the lockdowns itself.

I certainly don’t ‘miss’ them.

@IAmTheWalrus85 i think it’s ok to say what you enjoyed on a thread that specifically asks that question. Some of the nicer aspects do feel like guilty pleasures though!

Most of these replies are from people in very privileged situations and not representative of all the many people who really suffered in the lockdowns

I agree with you @ouchmyteeth, and most of the replies are from extreme introverts who can't bear being with other people and who are now complaining that they have to go to dinner parties. They can just decline these invitations.

I remember reading posts on MN from posters cooped up in flats with no outside space, posters who lost relatives, posters who lost their jobs etc.

I was privileged enough to keep my job and WFH, have outside space and live rurally with plenty of scope for walking, but I would not want to go back to lockdown ever.

I don't miss much, we were both working. I'd have liked to be furloughed for 6 months and lay in the sun in the back garden.

Mostly the weather of the first lock down. It was a bit surreal and scary too though, not knowing where it was going. I loved having the kids home and being in the garden and going for walks. It all seems even more weird looking back - not being able to stop in your walk, having to think of a staple product to buy in the shop along side your unnecessary ice lollies, only being allowed out once and walking to completely avoid people.

I miss the government daily updates and their charts. It was very interesting.

I still worked in office and was never furloughed - but as I wasn’t allowed to see my partner or friends at the time I spent my time exercising and lost 3 stone. Also, Because I wasn’t spending money going out I got myself out of debt.

Yes, what the actual fuck?

People were not all the same in terms of materialistic things. Some people had loads of money, were better off even, and could afford to have treats and things to make life easier delivered whenever they wanted. Usually by low earners. Others struggled to pay bills because of the 20% salary drop on furlough or were left out of support entirely.

It's one thing people enjoying the quiet or whatever, that's a personal call. But this is just nonsense.

Yes!! Or getting really close when you're looking at something on a supermarket shelf and the like, it was lovely to have a little bit of space.

I also had a 7mo when lockdown started and random people not just coming up and touching her was lovely!

It was the best time of my life.
I miss the at lifestyle so much.

I had a baby on the first day of lockdown so my partner was at home for 9 weeks to help out with the baby and our 2 year old.
With my first we had visitors all day, every day for 3 weeks and it ruined my bond. This time round, literally no one visited. It was AMAZING.
I'm quite introverted and love staying in the house. It was so nice having people stay away and just spend time with my little family.

Probably the best time of my life. I spent a lot of the time eating takeaways and watching TV with a baby latched to me. Bliss.

I think the weather did make a big difference. For people who are citing things they liked, more seem to be mentioning the spring 2020 one. It was a gorgeous spring. I wonder if things might've turned out differently if it hadn't been?

Honestly nothing.

I wasn't furloughed so I had to work (wfh).

I couldn't see my OH because we don't live together.

Two of my kids are medics and were pulled to work on covid wards.

My youngest was an A level student and their whole life was affected.

I am lucky. I have a house with a garden. Many many people did not even have that

That was wonderful wasn't it? Nature started to recover.

For the first lockdown it was great all being together as a family. Because the weather was good we had nice walks and watched West Wing in the evenings.

We also loved being with Ddog 24/7.

It was the worst time and best time for me; DD developed Anorexia and is still battling now and I lost my mum and dad within weeks of each other.

But I miss the shorter, less stressful working days, sitting in the sun, the peace and quiet, less ironing and a cleaner house.

I wouldn’t want to go back, but I can appreciate that it wasn’t all bad and I try to focus on the good when I think back.

I miss days in the garden with DH and DS. We spent loads of time making it look lovely, then put up a gazebo with fairy lights where we played games and ate meals.

I miss how everywhere was quiet. I walked for miles for physio (I had an operation just before lockdown). We live in the countryside, and I wouldn’t see another soul all day.

I miss the effort we put into cooking and baking as a family. DS was home from uni, and was missing the social aspect, so we chose a different country to cook from each day.

I miss watching TV together. Specifically This Country and Young Offenders. We’d allow ourselves an episode of each a night to spread it out. I don’t watch tv at all usually, but sitting together watching something funny was lovely.

I miss sending things to my friends and getting little packages and cards from them.

I know it was such a shit time for many, but I think we made the most of a bad situation.

As a frontline, redeployed hcp, absolutely nothing. It was straight out of a nightmare and caused me longstanding mental health problems.

I miss DH baking delicious banana loaves & amazing wholemeal bread. He still does but nowhere near as often.

I miss being the only one to find toilet roll and eggs in shops because I live in zone 1 and there was no one commuting in to shop.