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?

👆👆👆

Can no one enjoy anything because other people are having a shit time?

Israel/Gaza.

Trust no one is out partying tonight.

I’m sorry people don’t ask you how you are, or include you in their gatherings even though they sought to do so during lockdown. I hope you’re ok x

Not even a little bit. YABU.

It was terrible how sick people were getting but stuck at home was the time of my life. I loved it.
I know this is only because nobody got ill or lost jobs. We didn't have much space but had a small garden.

However it affected others so much, so I would never want it back though personally I loved it.

I'm guessing you weren't in NSW either? The Western Sydney curfews, police patrolling the streets, 5km from home limit? Three months of 2021?

On reflection I had pretty happy days during lockdown 1 too. I was already a sahm to a young toddler, and despite us being in a flat with no garden we had lovely days out at parks and exploring the local area. We lived in a great part of London which had loads of little garden squares to discover, and other public squares and footpaths that I had never known about. She was young enough to not be too bothered about missing the playgrounds, and I had to be inventive with ways for her to play without them, like climbing over low walls and running up and down wheelchair access slopes. The weather was good and we just had a lovely bonding time, all the more intense because she would have been in more group play situations otherwise. I didn't know anyone who died or got seriously ill personally, so for me the whole period was focused on parenting in those circumstances.

For our unique family circumstances it was a leveller.

We had had our hard times before and had a child with severe mental health difficulties who we were already educating at home.

I think covid and the lock down/ national home educating experience has made it much easier for him to reengage with others because it has meant his experience wasn't unique.

It was a torrid time for many but I think, like peoples experiences of war time, there are things that it is OK to be sentimental about.

I remember seeing an urban fox walk down the road in broad daylight. That is not something I'll ever see again.

All my (entertainment industry) businesses went bust. I lost precious time with my 103 yr old granny. My dd had her 16th birthday party in a field, terrified some old busybody would report her. Fun fun fun.

I think the hindsight bias applies more to the posters who are, with that hindsight, now trendily cynical and claim to have thought everything an over-reaction all along. I remember posters on here taking their children out of school and panicking that the government were not doing enough initially and most of us were somewhere along the spectrum of a bit worried to terrified if we are honest.
I worked right through (NHS but not frontline) so missed out on all the furlough fun

I get what you mean OP. I was fortunate that nobody I knew got the virus during that pre-vaccination time and even the family members that were furloughed (and some ultimately lost jobs) look back on those first few months fondly

Weather was great, life slowed right down, no issues with shopping deliveries, was out walking every day after work and finding places in my local area that I didn’t even know existed, parents started using FaceTime which they didn’t before and still do now - I can say that those first 3-4 months were great for me (and that is not taking away anything from others who I know had a different experience)

Fast forward to the lockdown Jan/Feb 2021 , where I fell into a pretty deep depression and had some horrible thoughts that I wouldn’t want to revisit and that time still impacts me now in some ways.

I had a 3 month old. Got made redundant because of COVID. Partner ended up at home for 3 months as self employed. We spent extended time as a family that we wouldn't of had otherwise. Uninterrupted time as family couldn't visit. For us, it's was financially strained but blissful with our first born.

The only thing I feel nostalgic about is the lack of road traffic. It was great not getting stuck in traffic on my way to work and back.
My family and friends didn't really do lockdown, we just carried on seeing each other as normal.

Yeah a little. I was pregnant with my first and it was quite lovely being in a tiny bubble, focusing on growing baby and enjoying wfh full time.

Don't worry - HQ suspended anyone whose views on lockdown weren't the governmentally approved ones. So there was a slightly skewed perspective...

@SoupDragon

That's disingenuous of you.

That poster gave no indication they reflected on the utter devastation so many others faced.

It's not the same as Christmas or whatever - of course, there are people who enjoy a happier Christmas than others. But Covid was utterly different, unpredictable & terrifying for so many. People had to endure events & scenarios they could never have imagined, as set out already in this thread.

Even in cases like mine, much more minor, I realised how utterly alone I was. I managed to do my work, but I had shit days as a parent. I feel guilt still about that. My useless & already flaky ex didn't show up for at least 8 weeks of our first lockdown ... as useless as he was, I was utterly desperate for some break or support with the kids.

I'd no one at all to share this with.

So no, it's not remotely like allowing for variations in the normal course of human experience.

No I don't as I was working so not lazing around in the garden and I hated every fucking minute of the fiasco.

FFS

To the pp saying it's easy enough to not do anything now that you don't have to do, I dont agree. Obviously to some extent (I say no waaayyy more often post covid) but in the main, no.

The whole family was home day in day out together, it's not really possible to recreate that. DH was furloughed for 6 weeks. I can't fathom how it's possible to have 6 weeks of not needing to earn an income, or go to school, or see anyone at all for any reason. Impossible to recreate.

I also don't understand the venom towards those who didn't find the pandemic hard. It was individual circumstances and unprecedented. I can say I found it okay, whilst also acknowledging it was horrendous for many others. I'm not going to lie and say I found it an awful time 😕

Yes and no. There was a little bit at the beginning, where i honestly thought it would be a month at most...

I was on maternity leave, my baby had been ill quite a bit in the winter & was actually doing better with lockdown, the weather was glorious & DH was working from home so was around so much more, initially it felt like a bit of a lovely holiday. Had quite a lot of sex because there wasn't anything else to do.

But then i remember it getting so so boring, missing out on lots of fun stuff.

I wouldn't want it again.

I didn't enjoy it. I got diagnosed with cancer end of March 2020, so spent my time having chemo and radiotherapy.

I guess if I'm looking on the bright side - the hour long journey to hospital 5 days a week was better as not much traffic and the parking was free 🤷🏼‍♀️

My husband spent his time worrying he'd give me covid from still having to go to work.

My family and friends couldn't visit me etc, although my Mum did every Friday as she said the rules weren't keeping her away from her child with cancer 🤦‍♀️ I'm grown up now Mum 😂

Furlough was not fun. I spent 3 months managing on 80% of an already shit wage and panicking that I would not have a job to go back to. I hate it when everyone assumes furlough was great.

No, and I think you're being very tone deaf.

I was one of the "lucky ones". I could work from home, none of my loved ones died.

But I cannot erase what was happening to other people. The huge amounts of people dying, the people who were isolated and couldn't see anybody, supermarket workers being shoved out onto the "front line" and expected to just get on with it whilst other people were barbecuing at home. People who were shielding and washing their shopping and doing anything they could to keep save, who are now being mocked for their actions. Pregnant women giving birth alone,

We know more about covid than we did then. But back then it was absolutely terrifying and people died. And many, many people are still feeling the effects of death of loved ones, loss of livlihood, accumulated debts etc etc.

So no, I don't feel nostalgic for it at all and I'm already annoyed at how things will be portrayed in the history books; laughing about the stockpiling of toilet rolls and the washing of shopping etc. People seem to forget so quickly how utterly terrifying it was and how little was known about it.

You could take your annual leave together in the summer holidays and stay at home all day every day with your children if you find that fun.

I’m sorry to hear that many people appear to have had a devastating time in Spring 2020 and I obviously don’t miss the virus or the politics/deaths. I’m mostly talking about the record breaking sunshine and the TikTok trends and the weird feelings it brings back. I would never want to go back to it (I’d love to go back to the 2010s though) but all I’m saying it makes me feel weird inside.