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?

I enjoyed the first lockdown. It was constantly quiet outside and I did nothing for weeks on end. I was furloughed and could wake up at any time of the day and do whatever the heck I wanted.

Wouldn’t want to go through it again though

I am in Australia in a state that is not Victoria.

We had three lockdowns:

6 weeks in early 2020
2 weeks snap lockdown March 2021
2 weeks Sep 2021

We had very few deaths, the children had a brilliant online schooling experience.

There was no traffic or overhead plane noise, so it was very quiet.

So for us - it was like a holiday.

I don't remember those first few weeks in March 2020 fondly - supermarket shelves were bare and we were scared. Once supplies were restored it was much better.

Totally get that most people had a very different experience. My UK family would say very different things.

We lost a family member and a good family friend in the first lockdown.

I was pregnant with our first child, bleeding alone multiple times and sitting for hours alone in the EPAS waiting for scans to tell me if our baby was ok. DH was stuck abroad as an essential worker and missed almost all of my pregnancy. No local friends or family. Furloughed from work.
I spent the whole of lockdown 1 alone just staring at the walls of our house and doing a daily walk round the village.

Awful hospital experience for the birth.
Second lockdown I spent 75% of alone with our newborn, staring at the same 4 walls and walking round the same village.

Common sense tells me it’s highly unlikely another pregnancy would be the same but I still can’t bring myself to try for a second.

The first thing I did when things got “back to normal” was put our perfect family home on the market because I felt sad there after being so lonely during pregnancy and as a new mum.

Seeing people fighting over toilet paper wasn’t funny, it was ridiculous.

I had a shit experience but I’m still one of the very lucky ones - people weren’t allowed to be with dying loved ones. People died alone.

I know what you mean and I personally enjoyed the lockdowns, I have a beautiful home in the countryside and plenty of space, great relationships, etc but you must realise that your post is so short sighted and comes from a place of utter privilege. So many didn’t have our experience and are still suffering the consequences. I can’t quite believe you decided to post such a smug thread 🫣

Jeez no I was working the whole time, wondering how the heck we'd pay back all the money we spent of furlough without falling into a huge global recession. It turns out we can't (though Brexit/Ukraine/Truss have all have all helped to screw us too)

No. It was my first maternity leave and I was honestly drowning.

The thought of that sh*t ever again.

The only thing I liked about lockdown 1 was the quiet roads as I went to and from work.

Not all of us got to laze around in the sun.

No thanks.
I was at work.

Didn't get any furlough for me.

It was shit.

Absolutely not. Found out I was pregnant on April 1st 2020 with my second, dealing with pregnancy, a toddler and a husband in the forces working a lot, it was shit. I can't believe I came out of it with all my marbles intact.

Are you on fucking glue? My dad was in a care home, we weren’t allowed to visit him from February 2020 so he thought we didn’t care, then covid killed him on May 2020

just you carry on wearing your extremely rose tinted glasses tho

The weather was lovely and it was quite a simple time for us though we both were working including going to work some of the time (loved the cheap fuel and empty roads) but nostalgic no, I like my normal life too much

There were a lot more of us than we realised. We were censored.

I understand what you mean. In May 2020 covid prevented me from visiting my newborn child in NICU for a week, the most horrendous time of my life, but I still look back fondly on March-May - tucked away safely at home, waiting to have my baby, lovely weather - weird what the mind can do!

My dad was on a ventilator for 5 weeks that spring so I'm not particularly nostalgic for that time but it is odd to think back to how everything was then.

I can very very very slightly get what you're hinting at OP, but it's so tone deaf. Honestly, some people who post about the lovely time in their garden with friends/family are the most tone deaf. Nobody is saying you can't have a different experience, but quite honestly so many others suffered during this period that to talk about the lovely time you had is just really poor taste. It just doesn't need to be said.

On a personal level I suffered and my family suffered. Some good came out of it for us too but at what cost? Would rather not think back with nostalgia but with disgust, anger and sadness for what happened.

This. It's odd how so many people fail to make the link between "ooh, lovely furlough", and "shit economic situation we're in now".

I predicted this in 2020, and was suspended from MN for saying it, because it "wasn't in the spirit".

Fuck that.

You may have had a good time, and you may feel nostalgic but surely you know it was a terrible time for many people in many different ways. Reminisce privately with your friends, family, colleagues, anyone who had a similar experience to you but YABU to post about it here. It's obvious from this thread you've brought back lots of bad memories for lots of people.

It was fantastic in many ways but also awful in others. A shared very surreal and challenging experience that has affected the public conscious for the foreseeable

👆

What they said.

Shudder even thinking about it

Nope. Working on the wards full time was incredibly stressful and I was the most exhausted I have ever been.

I was furious at community services being effectively cancelled and a percentage of our staff sitting at home in their gardens; I knew waiting lists would build up.

I know many privileged people enjoyed their family time in their gardens sitting in the sun.

And I hated those claps and despised anyone who thought they were doing their bit by banging on saucepans.

Zero nostalgia here. Lots of anger though.

My lockdown was probably a lot shorter than yours (US) and I was very fortunate in that I didn’t have to worry about educating small children or worrying about elderly parents. 3 of the 5 people in my household were essential workers, so worked out in public every day, there was always a fear they’d bring it home. I did lose my job, but I wasn’t dependent on the money so it wasn’t a big concern.

I was lucky to be able to walk almost daily in the woods, and to sit in my garden in the evenings with my DH. But I did pay close attention to the losses every single day and found the whole thing extremely anxiety inducing. I was glad when things started to open up again. it wasn’t as bad for me as the vast majority of people but I certainly don’t miss it and hope never to deal with anything like it again.

Including on here, where we were supposed to toe the "stay the fuck at home" line.

No, I was working in hospital management 24/7 while all my friends were furlough, baking with dc and loving the sunshine that I missed. I think I managed to get in the garden for one day of it.

i miss the kindness of people. That seems long gone and selfishness seems worse than ever.

My sibling was in a state that was not Victoria and it was nothing like a holiday. They were alone with a toddler in daycare whilst they worked. Not allowed to leave their LGA.

Lockdown 3 was definitely far worse, long winter nights plus I was full time working outside the home mostly arranging funerals and visits to the ill, the struggling... was pretty tough