To find the early COVID era nostalgic?

[Acco]

I’m mostly talking about the pre-lockdown and lockdown 1 era mostly but just 2020 in general to a lesser extent (but not 2021, I still hate it and it doesn’t seem that long ago). I haven’t thought about COVID for ages but I was taking about the toilet roll hysteria with my in laws tonight and then I saw a TikTok throwback to all the 2020 trends and sounds and it gave me a warm feeling inside. It’s an era I’d never want back but I remember the lovely sunny days in the garden in April and May 2020.
Anybody else feel this?

@Jumpingthruhoops at one point my 22 year old (as he was then) son had 33 laptops in his bedroom in a shared house, he works in IT hardware - he had couriers coming 3 times a day. I thought he would have a breakdown!!

Watching others being abused isn’t supposed to be enjoyable.

If OP had a cushy Govt job, was she not at least a little worried about small independent business being crushed?

Govt telling families and lovers that they can’t see each other. Has that ever happened before in history?

And if those who pay her wages become poorer and harder to fleece, she may not be quite as secure in the future.

Did she not care what happened to people in developing nations who depended on our tourism and trade?

I didn’t mention this earlier as I didn’t want to trigger anyone unnecessarily over baby loss, but:

A friend of DH’s had a still birth. She had no idea anything was wrong, then during labour it became clear that everything was wrong. Emergency c section under general anaesthetic, and she woke up to a dead newborn.

The number of scans had been limited due to covid. Midwife appointments were sometimes on the phone rather than in person. I don’t know enough about it to know if that would have made a difference.

I watched the funeral on Zoom. Tiny number of guests present. No one could hug the bereaved parents as they cried over the tiny coffin - a wicker basket, really.

There were some quirky bits of covid that I enjoy in the privacy of my head or with close friends. Ok, so DH learnt to make his own cheese, hurray! But the image of those lonely unhugged parents of a dead baby - like the queen sitting alone at the funeral of her husband of decades - sticks with me.

And if means I’d have the decency to at least acknowledge how awful the pandemic was for many if I posted a thread like this.

I honestly just try not to think about it. There are so many desperately sad and awful stories.

I worked throughout and it was horrendously stressful because of the risk of infection.

I massively envied those who had been furloughed, including my adult son, who came to stay, but he wasn’t happy, he was bored and frustrated because he couldn’t see his friends.

My daughter moved back in for a year, which was nice, but by then I was working from home, which was boring and lonely.

I’m really hoping there isn’t another serious pandemic requiring such measures in my lifetime.

This post shows that there wasn’t a single narrative. How could there be, it was a global pandemic that influenced us all in different ways that highly depended on our circumstances. Covid was horrific but from the different experiences we are reading in this thread, it is clear that when a disaster happens we all have different cards that we are dealt with and different reactions.

I remember really feeling for my fiends that lived in flat shares alone and their worlds were suddenly closed up. I really felt for people that just had to go into work on the frontline. My aunt who was a nurse once sent us pictures of her in full gear head to toe - visor, gloves, as if we were in a war. So scary and she spent 6 days a week going into work taking care of people in the care home - dealing with covid patients. Whereas I had friends who were furloughed and had nothing better to do than body painting or picking up a random hobby - I guess that was their way of keeping sane - I don’t know.

I switched off the news. I couldn’t hack it and it gave my LO anxiety. So I had to create a bubble (full of playing make believe and shopping being an adventure - of course after all of the homeschool tantrums). But I was very aware of people suffering and used my furlough to volunteer with a local community that were making free PPE for neighbours that worked in healthcare. We would virtually connect. Although within this group we all experienced Covid differently. Some people had sick relatives or vulnerable and were totally housebound. Some lived alone. Some came from abroad and were stuck. Some suddenly had a full house because their grown up kids suddenly came to isolate with them. Some were in cramped living conditions. Some were in decent relationships, some realised they weren’t. Many suddenly had to feed 3 to 5 people 24/7 because there was no school. Many stopped working. Many were being kicked out of their homes! Honestly so many walks of life. All secretly petrified whether we admitted it or not, But we took a moment to meet up virtually weekly, as a means to do something in a hopeless situation and to exist during such an unpredictable time.

I’m just sharing because it feels like this post has divided us into “utopian” and “dystopian” experiences. In a disaster we do what we can and cope differently. I don’t know how much I’ve suppressed! Covid is such a blur.

But it is so important to realise that covid was f*cked and we as a people should have never had to go through it.

@Thepeopleversuswork

On the point about introversion: I totally understand that introversion isn't repackaged misanthropy. But most of these posters don't.

But that is exactly what you wrote. Here it is:

"The ones who describe themselves as "introverts" because it sounds cool but they're not actually introverts they have social anxiety and are misanthropes and are looking for any opportunity to opt out of normal social interaction unless it's with their "little families"."

Perhaps you'd like to explain it further? And no, it isn't simply "whinging" and then using your anxiety to "loudly celebrate how much you enjoyed growing vegetables with your family and cycling through fields of wheat when other people are dying" (what an odd trope).

I had to isolate at home for more than 3 months at a time, and over 6 months total. I don't recall baking anything. I didn't walk anywhere as I'm disabled. I didn't have my children with me as they were stuck in other cities. I am an introvert, but I didn't enjoy the forced isolation at all. We weren't allowed to drive far or often, but did most days just so I could see another person. I cried when I saw my kids' faces on Zoom. So FO.

@IamRa

So I'm not talking about you at all then am I?

My post was very clearly aimed at the people who, without any self-awareness, tip up on these threads and talk guilelessly about what a jolly time they all had during lockdown. You're not one of those so why be so upset about my posts?

The point about introversion comes into this because a lot of people at the moment seek to justify antisocial behaviour by saying they are introverts and are misusing the word. This particular strand of misuse of the word correlates very closely with the kinds of people who cheerfully tell everyone how much they enjoyed lockdown because it was full of family fun and then usually add a coda about how they are an "introvert" as if that justified their monumental lack of tact.

You seem to have become incredibly upset at me because you think I'm targeting people like you when in fact I'm very clearly excluding people like you?

I don’t believe that many who look back on Covid with nostalgia are introverts. I think they are just normal people who for once in their lives got the opportunity to slow down and gained insight into an alternative way of life. This was one of the unexpected “pleasures” of lockdown. It is hard to implement into our own lives what we learned during the pandemic in a world that has gone back into full speed.

However I am surprised that op hasn’t asked for this thread to be removed out of respect for those of us who are mindful that the lockdown was a period of mass grief and loss. There is something sickening in indulging in and longing to re-experience the “joy” of a devastating global experience. I lost multiple relatives, friends and acquaintances to the point where death became quite casual. I actually made my peace with death because of the thought that anyone could fall prey to the disease. Perhaps that is something else to feel nostalgic about, eh op?

Has OP said they dont care about anyone else? They are speaking about their experience, as I said I enjoyed parts whilst recognising and working directly with the reality. It doesn't offend me that some people were fortunate enough to enjoy elements of lockdown and make the most of a shitty situation; just as my heart breaks for those who really suffered. Both can be true, one doesn't invalidate the other. It's just another part of the race to the bottom isn't it, only those who live in misery can dare put their opinion forward. I'm not sure why because people had a shit experience they wish everyone had.

But it is so important to realise that covid was fcked and we as a people should have never had to go through it.*

Well I mean covid itself was happening whatever, some form of lockdown was needed, it's just unfortunate we had an incompetent and corrupt government who wouldn't actually listen to their advisors or to what others were saying.

Nah, bit difficult to find something so psychologically damaging nostalgic.

@Ramalangadingdong

However I am surprised that op hasn’t asked for this thread to be removed out of respect for those of us who are mindful that the lockdown was a period of mass grief and loss. There is something sickening in indulging in and longing to re-experience the “joy” of a devastating global experience. I lost multiple relatives, friends and acquaintances to the point where death became quite casual. I actually made my peace with death because of the thought that anyone could fall prey to the disease. Perhaps that is something else to feel nostalgic about, eh op?

Quite. I am in total agreement with you. The whole thing was breathtakingly tactless.

The reason the question of introversion came in at all is because a lot of people these days use "introversion" (improperly) as a fig leaf for antisocial and selfish behaviour. For the record I don't think real introversion has anything to do with this and certainly wouldn't make anyone behave in this way. But you see people all the time posting things like "I hate people. I'm an introvert". (No you're not an introvert and you haven't understood what the word means).

I do feel that a lot of the people merrily tipping up to talk about what fun they had during lockdowns are people who normally struggle with day to day social interactions and welcomed an excuse not to have to bother with them. I'm not a psychologist but I do think it's very telling that a certain sub-sector of the population seemed almost gleeful about the fact that they were able to live a hermetically sealed existence for weeks on end and there was more than a dash of misanthropy about it. I don't think its automatically symptomatic of bad moral character to find some positivity in the absence of social contact but I do think its unhealthy to want to live like that forever. And I think celebrating it on the internet is astonishingly tone deaf.

And no it has nothing to do with being an "introvert".

No, and we're retired.

Certainly don't miss all the " you're all fools, we brave anti propaganda warriors just broke those rules and didn't isolate because we didn't like it, aren't we special" FUCKERS who I see are out in force here.

DS1 is CEV. Any one of you could have killed him in his early 30s. And you're really proud of the possibility.

Can't say lockdown was much fun, but given the year I put in, when the news came through that we had to stay inside and not go anywhere over Xmas 2020, my first reaction was 'thank GOD!'

Nope, it was horrific.

I worked 60 hour weeks calculating & paying Furlough for 1600 employees a week using the ever changing goalposts that came from the Gov. Hugely stressful.

We did have barn gatherings at the stables though where hair dressers and nail techs came and done everyone, and we had pizza nights most weekends. That was fun, Nobody i knew really stuck to guidelines, it felt so normal being at the stables. Then i'd drive home and have people walking in front of me whilst trying to avoid someone else on a pavement - as if being hit by a car was not as bad as catching Covid

Walking past dropped used face masks all the way to the few opened shops.
A woman shrieking at me because I turned a corner quickly and nearly walked past her.
Huge queues outside the only opened shops.
Only able to see new-born grandson through their front window.
Life was a nightmare.

My brother works at the local funeral service and they saw little to no increase at all, throughout the entire time. He still think the stories are crazy now.

I went to a friends funeral in lockdown one, unrelated to covid, it was a brain tumour.
Whilst there was limited seats inside, there was about 120 of us outside listening on a live stream. It was at a crem and the police drove in, around the car park, and out again. They didn't care we were all gathering.

Yep, it wasn't a good time, for so many.

My DH and I were told to shield, so a mad scrabble to try and get online shopping, no normal health care available, my DF was in a care home, Covid arrived, and he had to die alone. Silly funeral - no cars or flowers allowed. 8 people only.

He died the same day that Johnson and Co held their wine fuelled garden party..😡

DH and I got all the vaccines as early as we could, but still were extremely cautious.

Earlier this year, we thought we were finally getting to the end, fully vaccinated and starting to see friends properly again.

He died, in hospital, of Covid, last April.

I sometimes think the stress and trauma will never end.🙁

i think enforcement varied from area to area, even in the first lockdown, everyone where I live seemed to mostly follow the rules. No visits etc, no gatherings. We were told only to leave the house (for exercise, shopping or whatever) once a day, that’s the only “rule” I broke. I took myself for a run in the morning (started C25k) and dragged the kids out for a couple of hours in the afternoon while the weather was lovely. My OH in his neck of the woods said there was very little enforcement, and people were more relaxed about it. No one reporting anyone for having people in garden or working in pairs outdoors whereas here everyone was nervous about it.
I enjoyed it. Didn’t have to see anyone, but at the same time saw so many people enjoying the simple things. I suppose I was lucky I had no one in my life who was vulnerable to Covid complications, and no one who died from it. However I think the blaming of people who didn’t have awful experiences on everyone who was vulnerable dying is unreasonable. Whilst consideration and forethought is a decent human trait, it’s unreasonable of people to assume that absolutely everyone is going to adhere to the strictest of rules to protect strangers. If people were that scared of catching it, it was unfortunately on them. They didn’t have to go to weddings/funerals/parks/supermarkets/anywhere else. Lots of people got fed up of isolating even when they were vulnerable/had vulnerable family and then went about daily life only to blame people who weren’t vulnerable for their friends/relatives getting sick. We were all responsible for our actions really but if you know you’re vulnerable, it’s on you to take the precautions.

I had similar for my husband's funeral. Not Covid, but he didn't get the medical treatment he needed.

20 at the funeral, max. Wasn't even allowed to thank people in the crematorium building. Had to do it in the car park.

Morning of the funeral a relative through marriage died of Covid after contracting it in a care facility.

A fortnight after my husband's funeral, I stood outside the church for the funeral of my dad's best friend. His niece - also standing outside - was also a funeral director. Told me she'd never known a winter like it for funerals.

This was a burial, but we weren't even allowed into the graveyard. We walked from the church to the cemetery and then had to stand outside the gates - close family only were allowed in.

Well, two funeral directors told me that there was a huge increase in our area. A fortnight after my husband's funeral, I attended the funeral of a family friend. One of his relatives was in her undertaker attire. She wasn't working - she was heading straight off to officiate at another funeral.

She told me she'd never seen a winter like it.

Well not everyone was furloughed or able to work from home and enjoy endless days in garden.

I was furloughed and I did not enjoy endless days in the garden. Furlough was NOT a jolly old time.

For me personally, it was great. Worked from home in safe secure job, lovely weather, all kids home, lots of family time, no pressure to go anywhere.

But I don't live the UK and had a sensible government and was happy with how they managed everything so, that makes a difference too.,