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?

No it was a really scary time like a horror film unfolding before our eyes. A very close family member in his 40s died alone in his home a day after we’d just seen him walking in the woods. Only 5 people were able to attend the funeral. The thought of that time makes my blood run cold.

Absolutely not! I was alone in my flat, no garden and working all hours of the day (remotely - pharma related). It was horrendous. My elderly parents live abroad and I spent 2 years without seeing them. By the time I did, their health had declined extremely.

I can't believe your post to be honest

We did have some lovely family times in those days. The weather was lovely and my two 2yr olds were very happy and relaxed. Though there was also a lot of anxiety of the unknown, fear of vulnerable family and friends and sadness over lost lives. It was also impossible to ignore those who were losing their livelihoods and parents who were struggling to home school. Me and my husband’s employers were very understanding and flexible but that’s wasn’t everyone’s experience of juggling childcare and work.

I also sometimes catch myself thinking what a better position Covid put us in in life – namely the opportunity to regularly WFH and also to save a lot of money. But then I balance it against the loss of life and the immeasurable pain it brought so many people and I know that my flexible schedule and savings account is not worth that at all. I would gladly give back all those positives to give people back their livelihoods and loved ones. It would’ve been nice if employers could have gotten on board with flexible working without the need for Covid to force it.

It was shit. I lost my uncle and I had to home school my son, look after a baby and work full time during the first lockdown. My work (the NHS) didn't care how stressed I was or that I was neglecting my kids either. I was really stressed and did not know what was going on in the world, but seemed to be one of the few people that could foresee the economic decline down the road, the corruption and generally our country/politics going to shit in the future, and the rise of polarisation by the media. That was pretty frustrating.

It was business as usual for many people in my family as we were all keyworkers. No sitting in the garden with the kids posting pictures of cakes online while getting paid by the government for us.

I think it's changed my life long term. Much more of a hermit now and can't be arsed to go out.

YABVVU

The only warm feeling I get inside from thinking about this era is vomit coming up in my throat.

People who can look back on that period with fondness (and some even missing it) can fuck off. Often people with a nice house, garden, family, furloughed, made banana bread, did Joe Wicks workouts, happily Zoomed with people, could afford and get home deliveries etc. Were not isolated, were not stuck in hospital alone, didn't have people shout at them for walking the dog etc
Just, no.

God no, it broke me.

True
in the beginning I thought the whole "I told you so" thing was sad

now I laugh a hollow laugh at the idiots who are shocked by inflation and interest rates and that little Archibald developed an eating disorder after all the quality time baking with mummy and daddy on the aga.

i feel sorry for the kids but those sorts of parents? No fucking way. It's not often you see karma actually happen.

I feel similarly about my own personal experience of it. However, I am well aware it was a total nightmare for so many others in many ways.

Nope it was shit. I worked scared to death I'd kill myself and my family. What an odd thing to say 😳

Lockdown 1, there was a feeling of 'in it together', of pride in our NHS of coming together. The weather was lovely. It's not wrong to acknowledge daily life improved for some people, without the expectations and demands of commuting, traffic, not time to relax.

It would’ve been nice if employers could have gotten on board with flexible working without the need for Covid to force it.

i worked for a bank and we always had the ability to work from home pre-pandemic, it’s always been an option on the cards for many people

All staff sleeping in our care homes so they had 24 hour care, families not being able to say goodbye to their loved ones, residents not understanding why everyone was in PPE and having to isolate in their rooms, and ultimately all the deaths 😢so many deaths. Staff are still struggling with that now.

The good weather was the only positive. Homeschooling and watching an increasingly distressed and anxious 5 year old, totally devoid of contact with other children for 3 months, was the most horrible time for us.

And to think those bastards in the government were living it up with their parties etc while the nation suffered and you wonder who’s feeling nostalgic? Only those who were completely untouched will be (and I know two relatives who do, and they can’t understand why our then-5yo wasn’t thoroughly enjoying being off school and, apparently, doing exactly as he pleased.

Wtf the insanity of stupid people. $9 meal and stay 45 minutes and you were safe but get an €8 meal you’ll die!! Fucking insanity. I followed no rules and worked all the way through. Lost friends to suicide and trafficked my daughter Halfway round the world cos if you didn’t take bullshit jab you needed a clear cert to say you didn’t have a snotty nose. Don’t start me on the crapology of the toilet roll frenzy for a “virus” of the lungs. Why did people need so much toilet roll?? People lost their liveky hoods me included then I had to find a new job, ironically in health care.

What pride and what do you mean “our NHS?”

I have NHS friends and they definitely didn’t feel supported by the public, nor did they feel prideful. More stressed, depressed, anxious, scared etc

Mixed feelings over this one. I enjoyed the shut down in as no pressure to see people or go anywhere. The roads were empty. Would have been nice if not for the circumstances that found us all in that position to start off with. We lost a lot of people, I lost my Mam during the pandemic (not through Covid) and having to arrange the funeral totally over the internet was testing! I also was getting both my children through their degrees. One qualified as a nurse 2020 so started her nursing career with a worldwide pandemic going on! I did get to know my neighbours better though and the community spirit of helping each other was heartwarming. I preferred the quietness if I am totally honest as I generally hate all the hustle and bustle and fast pace of life as it normally is.

No, Jesus 🤦‍♀️

it's interesting to read other people's stories here and what they went through. The sad thing is the world continues to fall apart afterwards. I think we were all hoping for a happy time where we could live well again after and it hasn't happened for many.

Surely you must realise that for the vast majority of people, WFH was not available to them pre-2020, and now it’s 99% a given for office/desk employees. What relevance does that have to your WFH bank job?

It never ceases to amaze me on threads where people assume everyone feels the same as them about things. I wouldn't say nostalgic is the word I would use, I'm a paeds nurse but was moved to adult ICU which was terrifying! Trying to balance homeschooling with work and sending DS to school when we couldn't manage it- it was scary and hard- and of course missing family BUT I find thinking of tiger King, animal crossing and tik tok trending songs give me a weird feeling. Not sad, not happy just...weird. it was a really weird time and I wonder if I've suppressed some of it as now it's passed even though it was horrific I don't feel badly towards it as such.

Just commenting on my own experience, it's fine if yours is different.

Dear God no. I genuinely still can’t bear to think about it. I started a novel yesterday, discovered it’s set in the first lockdown, and put it down again.

Family friend is a junior doctor

he had an "incident" driving on a cliff path shortly after lockdown 1. It was clearly a suicide attempt but he doesn't want to talk about it, understandably.

GP friend told me "I'm scared" in May, I think. I realised she was calling me in particular for a reason. She wasn't scared of Covid.

i know where I'm going if there's another lockdown. It's a good spot and doesn't need a balcony 😂 and no one else is at risk.

No. It was bloody traumatic

I don’t think she’s saying that was NHS workers’ experience, but that was the feeling among the general population for the NHS at the time.