What things will you never again take for granted when this is all over?

[QuimJongUn]

Momentous or mundane.

Me:

Saturday afternoon pint after a bit of shopping

Going to the seaside

Being able to buy what you need

Waking up every morning without a knot of worry and fear in my chest

Making plans, travel (even just a bus ride to the next town), live music

The bustle of the city centre

The people I love. I think we all are guilty of doing this when day to day life gets in the way, however much we don't mean to

Human contact - I've noticed people everywhere striking up conversation (at a safe distance!) in a way they didn't before. I'm hoping this doesn't end when the CV outbreak does because it's lovely and I feel more 'connected' to the people in my community than ever, ironically. Of course that'll change if/when there's a total lockdown

I always thought I was the sort of person who took nothing for granted in the first place. All this has made me realise how much I actually did.

@DCIRozHuntley I was just saying to DH this morning how I love sleeping because I'm not thinking about it all. Every morning this week I've woken up and for a split second thought oh, what do I need to do/where shall I go today, forgetting for a second that it's not a 'normal' day. Then it hits me and boom, there's that suffocating brick in my chest.

Strange thing is, I often used to find it really hard to drop off at night because I'd like there worrying about all sorts of things which, as it turns out, were relatively inconsequential. At the moment though I'm so knackered from all the worry I'm falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

I have been whining about my job over the last few months. But it is relatively secure, pays ok and wfh is easy for me so I'll be a little less keen to complain in future, methinks

This x1000. Plus, my colleagues have really pulled together, we've just had our first ever meeting on Microsoft Teams and I felt all warm and fuzzy seeing everyone sitting there with unbrushed hair, cats walking over keyboards and people's partners wandering in and out of the kitchen to get coffee

I will never take my job security, decent salary, flexible working ability and friendly team for granted again.

Physical contact. I live alone and the thought of not touching another human being for months is really hard.

I do feel like a lot of things we found important before won't matter so much after this.

And I hope the shallow obsession with material things and weird standards of physical appearance as set by the likes of The Kardashians and their ilk makes a sharp exit as people start realising what really matters.

Being able to relax when my child is coughing

Not worrying about how to fit 2 weeks of food in the fridge.

Seeing my parents.

Travelling!

For me it's not so much what I won't take for granted, it's the realisation that so much in my life is unnecessary and that my life would be much calmer and simpler if I changed it.

I've been in isolation for over a week because I've been covid-19 symptomatic, so I've not really been bothered about going out. Now that I'm getting better I'm thinking about all the times I was rushing about here there and everywhere and asking myself, what value did all that have? Also thinking about the tiny bits of my life that I did value when I wasn't doing all of that.

I'm going to be at home mostly for the next three months and I'm looking at my garden and thinking that it's something right in front of me that I can spend time in, and work on, and relax in.

So I suppose my own home and garden are the things I won't take for granted in the future.

Being able to get down to the last toilet roll before going to the shops to pick up some more. Because there would always be toilet roll on the shelves.

Hugging friends.

Being able to jump on the train and see family.

Sorry for all the typos btw. The Freya scheme of things? Wtf?!

Peace of mind.

Being with my family. I'm currently stuck on a tiny island in Africa feeling like I should have left while I could. I have no idea when I'll be able to get back to the UK and see my kids. That's all that really matters

Oh wow, that puts the rest into perspective.

Other people and how much it means to see them.

• being able to see your family
• just going for a quick coffee with your colleagues as you discuss current business and make some jokes
• meeting friends for a couple of drinks ...

I'm on day 5 of not having spoken to any other human in the flesh bar the occasional cashier (now all behind a glass wall).

I've honestly got to say that the isolation of it all is getting to me and that I break into desperate sobs each time I remember this won't be over for months.

This may sound weird, but with a Mother who lives through WW2 and who herself grew up with stories of deprivation from WW1 and a Father from an Empire Nation this just seems oddly familiar. I've never experienced it, but it was the lore of my childhood. My Mother was the first to say it's all an over-reaction because there are no bombs dropping. I think where it has hit me is in the slight smugness I felt in following recipes that called for more than 2 eggs and half a pack of butter and having my porridge with milk and so on. I now 'get' this as I am down to half a box of artisan stoneground wholemeal flour and can't make up my mind what to do with it out of all the possibilities! I inherited the two old faithful cookbooks with the simple recipes in them. I think I will need to bring them out.

for me it is the constant naggin worry about people close to me.

My BIL and SIL (not in UK) both have it. Their daughter (teen) is immune suppressed and SIL mum is currently having chemo, and SIL saw her most days. BIL also visited my FIL (over 80) a couple of days before he got sick

my dad is very at risk too.

I am just worried all the time that we will loose one of them

Planning and being reasonably certain it will go ahead.

Visiting extended family - moaned about it over Christmas/NYE, now very glad we did (though hoping by Christmas 2021 to be moaning about it again).

Being with my family. I'm currently stuck on a tiny island in Africa feeling like I should have left while I could. I have no idea when I'll be able to get back to the UK and see my kids. That's all that really matters

I'm so sorry, it sucks! I'm "only" stuck at home all alone - but with each of my nearest and dearest in a country by themselves and my mother not doing so well, we're all slightly beyond desperate.

Friend's sister is also stuck in a developing country - they're all freaking out about what happens when their banks close and money can't be transferred any more.

It's all quite gloomy.

Travelling - DP and I have a campervan and last year we went all over in it, the French Alps, Snowdonia, Cornish coast etc.

Visiting my grandparents

Going out for a curry and beers

Visiting all the lovely independent shops and cafes in our town

Parkrun and all of the outdoorsy mass events we took part in

My Scout group and running club - both cancelled for the foreseeable, understandably. The chairperson of our running club sent the email to us all and signed off with 'see you sometime', which caused a bit of a lump in the throat.

I think it's made a lot of us consider what we'd been taking for granted. Fingers crossed and touching all the wood for a return to normality for us all in a few months' time.

Paracetamol - I normally take it every 4 hours for bad period pain but don’t want to use up what we have.

And I don’t want to take ibuprofen as I have asthma 😫

Being able to hug friends and family
The local pub
Cinema
Shops
Travel
Restaurants
Not feeling perpetually anxious......about everything

Being able to just jump on a plane and go home to my mum.

Going to running club, hugging a running buddy to say thanks for keeping me going when I found it tough, and then out for coffee and cake afterwards.

My parents. But also all the other grandparents on the school run, makes me realise how many of them I stop and chat to when suddenly they're not there.

Playgroups and other human contact.

The feeling of knowing what tomorrow is likely to bring, routine.

Definitely seeing friends and family. Going to the pub/local cafe/cinema. Seems like another lifetime!

Passata

I don't feel I am really a person who takes much for granted. I am always thankful for things.

The only thing really is seeing my parents. They are in their 90's and really want me and DH to go and see them but we just don't dare.