Lockdown positives and how much longer can you cope?

[whatisforteamum]

I have to say I am in my mid 50s and apart from the obvious tragedy of so many families affected by this awful virus I have found the actual restrictions ok.
Normally I am a workaholic and don't see dh from one day to another.I think being forced to stop work for a few weeks and not to out...didn't much before the to work hours and social anxiety.
Chores have been caught up,I've had time to chill and wear my own clothes eat at meal times and just be.
I love a long walk and love in the countryside.We have a kind of routine.
This is my first Easter off in many years.I could come with a few more weeks for sure.How about anyone one else?
How much longer could you cope with?I honestly don't miss anyone but Iive with dh and ds.

Also could do this for about six months

It actually just feels like a school holiday when we have no money so can't go anywhere or do anything. We had years of practice. We are fortunately better off now so can afford to stock up on food, which we couldn't have done years ago, but we've had plenty of practice at not being able to do anything.

I like it for the most part.
Working at home is fine.
DD happy as she is getting so much time with us- me and her dad (my XP) are loving the extra time with her.
The roads are super quiet and we have been having lovely bike rides. The air is clean even though we’re city centre. There’s time for home cooking, yoga classes, board games. My great aunt has the virus and she lives in a care home. It is extremely sad. Reminds me all these lovely things come at a cost.

As a rule I think imaginative creative types or people who are able to keep themselves busy are fairing best

Bloody hell, keeping busy isn’t an issue here. We’ve never been so busy (working from home, home schooling two children, looking after a toddler). I’m a creative type but haven’t had time to do any of my hobbies since we had to self isolate 5 weeks ago.

I’m fine too. I’m wfh full time and a single parent but the children are largely self sufficient (10 and 13) and are also entertaining each other or passing the time fighting so they are ok. I’m not missing socialising at all or the daily grind of commute, meetings, commute. I used to get headaches most weeks which I now realise were stress related because they have disappeared.

I’m fine for money. Have a small house and tiny garden but it’s comfortable and pleasant and safe. It’s nice that there is no traffic.

I’m struggling with the amount of cooking and cleaning now that I’m responsible for 21 meals a week rather than outsourcing some to school, cafes, Pret etc. And the cleaning with us all being at home all the time is really a drag. But other than that I’m fine.

I would love to hug my mum. And I’m very worried about what life will be like socially and economically afterwards. But I’m managing well. Im lucky.

I'm an imaginative creative type and I'm struggling. I've never gone longer than 2 weeks without seeing my mum or sisters before and nor has my DS.

I miss seeing my family and friends and being able to go out for coffee and meals with them but, other than that, am finding it okay now that supermarkets are better-stocked.
I love having my DH wfh and he enjoys it (even though he works longer hours). I will manage to do it for as long as is needed but I have a fairly large garden and enjoy gardening and I enjoy indoor pastimes like reading, listening to music and researching family history. If it rained for months and there were constant grey skies so that I couldn't go in the garden I'd find that more difficult.

@aWeaponCalledtheWord for you.

I personally am ok and busy with my job which is all set up to wfh. I worry about my daughter’s job security and my mum who is in her eighties.

I’m enjoying the peaceful walks and excellent spring weather; it is making me nostalgic for my 70s childhood somehow.

Many of the posts are swings and roundabouts a bit like mine I note. Hopefully some good will come out of this in less frenetic lifestyles. I can’t wait to dress up and go out for cocktails and dinner though.

I think being introvert is more of a help in this kind of situation than being a creative type. I also think that the current situation is affecting how busy people are in different ways - some massively busier than usual juggling a lot of balls and desperate for a break and others much less busy although usually at the expense of their salary.

I'm a key worker so luckily I'm still getting paid but until we had to self isolate last week was pretty much carrying on as normal.

Since having to self isolate I have been in total bliss. I had PND when my son was born and pretty much went out and did something everyday just to make time go quicker and give me something to take my mind off things. I hadn't realised that even though I'm much better now I was still doing this and now with self isolation I have had to finally stop. And it feels great. I have slowed everything down in my life. I will really make an effort once this is over to do less more often!

But I'll be back to work in a week! I could easily do this for another couple of months I reckon. I've checked my privilege and yep I am privileged, don't think I need to chastise myself for that though?

To the person saying we are acting privileged it's a thread about positives .

Last time I checked myself and and dh were still on low incomes my Dd who lives many miles away had lost her rented accommodation and dh who had a heart attack a.few.years ago had been made redundant and had to find a new job in the last year.
My dm who has had cancer twice is in the shielded group and we lost df to cancer a couple of years ago after a long battle with cancer!
Panic attacks stopped me driving anywhere.
I can still see the positives though.
Privileged.Probably.

Have a lovely home, large garden, all wfh, plenty of space and good broadband. Security not an issue.
I in particular am working flat out and it's intense.
I hate it. I want to wlk to meetings rather than zoom, I want to go to church and see my friends and collegues, schmooze the shops and generally chatter. I want to drive across France and breathe in the way the air chnges south of Limoges. I want to see the sea and sail my boat.
Can cope for about another 3/4 weeks.

@Sohardtochooseausername I'm very sorry to hear about your Great Aunt. You must be extremely worried about her. I hope she recovers very soon. Are you able to keep on touch with her by phone? DF also in a care home so I understand your worry.

I feel quite ambivalent. I’m late 50s w an older husband (73) who’s doing the groceries bc I’m shielding. When I got the letter (from the NHS) I was in denial but have been doing the shielding anyway - just a few areas I’ve to tighten up on. That’s going to be hard as it means mostly being alone in a house with another 3 adults. And my need to shield is likely to last till there’s an effective vaccine - so some time in 2021? We have 4adult DC all requiring support from us in various ways. The youngest is finding the isolation a struggle - he’s autistic, verbal, high functioning - fortunately likes reading and films but misses his routine. We had plans for this next stretch of time, now all on hold indefinitely. Another has LDs, is happy enough, but missing routine & DS1’s tiny flat in another area. One of them also has physical illness and is due to begin immunosuppressants for that. To say I’m worried about all of them is an understatement. My days are spent knitting, reading, radio, kitchen jobs. Due to shielding I eat away from the family. That’s a bit shit TBH but I’d prefer to stick about as long as I can - so trying to avoid the virus. We have a secluded & peaceful garden but it’s not that warm (Scotland) - we lived in a city flat with toddlers and I’m very aware how much better this is. Because of DH’s pension we are experiencing very little change in income - and we’re spending less overall even though some food items are dearer. Tonight youngest needed a hug which I gave him but that’s against the shielding guidelines. I suggested he phoned his bros for a chat and that helped too, but daily I have to consider how to best support all the DC. Another thing that improved is my social anxiety - I’m on my own for health reasons and there’s never any need to push myself to socialise. In the longer term though this could make my depression worse. I’ve also realised, due to my age and health and these new circumstances, my chances of getting back into a new job/career have now reached zilch. Assuming I survive I’ll be 60 next year, possibly still shielding whilst waiting for a vaccine. This is my life now and it’s not especially good for me.

Even if you are public sector workers or are otherwise salary secure, plenty of people can't work in these circumstances and businesses will go bust. The resulting severe contraction in the economy will affect everyone with greater national debt, less tax revenue for public services etc - so best not be too smug

I would like to carry on like this until September at least. If it weren't for the circumstances. I am very much enjoying the slower pace of life.

We've coped better than I could have imagined so far. It's busy as we have a 5 and 2 year old to look after and both DH and I are still working, but there have been some positives too.

I think the DCs have become closer as a result of having no one else to play with. Home schooling with DD has actually been fun and I have been surprised and very grateful that he has got on with it. (In fact, this week was probably harder than previous weeks as school didn't send anything home and it's been harder to engage him in different activities.) We've enjoyed not being over scheduled with activities, days out, family gathering etc. and we've noticed that DCs don't really miss those things. Having said that, even during lockdown it is still possible to feel pressure to be doing stuff with the DCs all the time.

I think we can go on for longer, though I think the DCs are starting to gradually show a few signs of boredom. I'm lucky in a way as I have to go.into work one or two days a week which breaks things up a bit. DH normally works from home anyway. The thing I worry most about is my mum who lives alone.

Sorry, I didn’t edit properly and the middle bit is missing.

2 other DC stuck in tiny flat miles away. DC1’s tiny flat. Both have MH problems, and one physically ill too. I’m glad they’re together but we’re all missing them and they us. The one with LDs missing friends & routine.

There is no benefit in being miserable if you don't have to be.

Of course it is complete shit for many people. But our level of happiness will have no bearing on theirs. So we stay in, doing what we wanted to do all along.

I feel like I have the worst of both worlds, full time job still (working on covid wards) and not able to see my family or friends and do all the things I usually love when I'm not at work !

I know it's necessary though not been bored for even a second, just sad and worried about the people I love. If I was just at home I'd probably love it for a few weeks/maybe months as I have a nice house and garden, lovely DH and grown up children

I’m not actually coping that well. I’m working from home flat out and therefore having to bat away my kids most of the day which makes me feel terrible but both me and dh are constantly having to work. We are both key workers but able to work from home. My 10 and 7 year olds are left to their own devices at lot of the time and I feel like I do nothing at all but work, cook and clean.

I’m very grateful we have space in the house and a big garden.

I’ve also realised how sociable I am. I like seeing other people. I find work less stressful in the office when I can share the load with others.

All a self-pitying moan though, I realise we are doing fine compared to what many people are going through.

Positives are the commute from the kitchen table is great. I’m locked down with my teenagers who are happy to be in a virtual world, it’s normal for them to be keeping in touch with friends via socials. Also the dog is happy to have company.
My job is secure so no concerns about losing it, however it’s frustrating to not be able to do it effectively, although a lot of the background work is easy enough from home it’s not ideal to do everything from a distance. I’m really struggling with the isolation, I miss people, friends, family, colleagues. I especially miss my boyfriend of 2 years who I haven’t seen for a month. I think I would feel better for a hug. If we could visit each other’s homes, then I could cope a lot better. I also hate the military operation that is involved in going food shopping and I am obsessed with who’s eating what and when, I never realised what a privilege it is to pop to the shop.
I was hoping that 3 weeks would be all, so I am finding it hard to know that it’s not going to be over and that there seems to be no plan of what happens next. Actually one of the main positives is I know I am not going to lose a parent to this ☹️

Well I’m less knackered as don’t physically go anywhere.

I thought I’d like having time. In my usual routine i’d never have time to walk around locally. Turns out walking round an edge of town housing estate isn’t all that really.

I suppose it could be a lot worse, as we do have a big enough house and small garden. But it’s all a bit hunger games isn’t it. One in five needing hospital / oxygen is scary. The uncertainty of what catching it will do to us (family of 5). Keep thinking “May the odds be ever in your favour”

I think I won’t check my privilege, actually. I think I’ll revel in it.

I have DH and DCs and DDog and DCat around. And they are gorgeous and I am loving them all. We have planted things in the garden, been for walks, eaten well, and made each other laugh. Of course, other things are going on, but these times of enforced family life with no other commitments have been really special.

Positives, maybe spending less on petrol.
I'm a single mum to a 4 year old and a 2 year old. I'm also teaching remotely (work full time).
Mostly it's stressful and draining and I just feel apathetic and very lonely.
I miss actually talking to people in real life and getting away from my children for even a few minutes. I don't have time to phone anyone and texts/whataspps/ social media seem to make me feel even more lonely.
But then other days it doesn't feel so awful.