Anyone else loving lockdown life?

[Purpleorangegerberas]

Just that really.
I could happily live like this long term.
I have 2 DC aged 10 and 14 and I love our little cocoon.
Life is so full of hustle and bustle and daily demands and to me this is heaven!
I feel strange for feeling this way, anyone else?

And also, you know what? Suffering is a part of life. I think the pandemic is completely dreadful but there are always tragedies playing out somewhere. Six months ago if someone was enjoying their life, were we telling them they shouldn't talk about that because people were starving in Yemen or dying of malaria or living with extreme poverty in a refugee camp? I care very much about those affected by this horrible virus but it is completely acceptable to find happiness where you can. It's vital, actually.

Seeing the effect this is having on ds(19), no. Not at all.

I wouldn’t say I am enjoying lockdown, for me that would be the wrong word. I am however learning a lot from it, like my ASD son might be early level in school but homeschooling him has shown me that he is actually very capable of more advanced work and I am considering continuing homeschooling him until high school.

I have a new appreciation for quality family time, my board games stash has increased from 3 to 14. We have had some fun evenings with lots of laughter which has been good for the soul.

I am also learning that I really took a lot in life for granted. I have no life insurance despite having 5dc. No will. I had no store cupboard built up for emergencies. I have been used to a life where if I wanted to go somewhere I went, if I wanted a treat I bought it and nothing bad would ever happen in my little bubble out in the middle of nowhere. Talk about cloud cuckoo land.

I do think that it is important to try to find the positives in such dark times. Whilst I feel sorry that my children are unable to see their friends and attend their schools, I tell myself this experience is teaching them important life lessons.

So for me, I can’t bring myself to say I am enjoying lockdown, but I am doing my very best to find and hold on to the positives and learning from it. I do have parents in the vulnerable category and my last living grandparent. My heart aches when I think about the so many people out there that have already lost loved ones. However i think it’s extremely important to look after the mental health of yourself and family so being positive about lockdown to me, is a good thing.

and feel that this is pretty much what my retirement might be like

I’m 61, and if this is what retirement is like I have no intention of stopping work for a long time.

@PurpleThistles84 I agree with you

There is not much which makes me laugh at the moment, but your comment did, @Ginfordinner

It’s the curates egg. Good and bad in parts.
Definitely feel calmer. Worried about fil who has covid and is in hospital, and my best mate who is a nurse on a Covid Ward in another hospital. She’s just one of the best people ever. Worried about the families I support. Worried about the wider global implications.
But the days are golden and the blossom is beautiful and there is finally a bit of time.
So it really is the curates egg.

Its a perverse situation of finding the pandemic utterly terrifying whilst finding the seclusion, simplicity and time with family from isolation largely lovely.

And then feeling guilty for enjoying it when there's such terrible misery, on cycle.

I'm loving it too Op, although I do feel guilty for feeling that way with so many suffering all around the world.

I am WFH and it's busier than ever so working 12-14hr days plus have taken a massive pay cut to support the company & long term I'm worried about the future of the organisation, however I've got my DH and babies at home all safe and loving spending the extra time with them (as I generally work 11-12hr days anyway).

Not feeling pressure to rush around at weekends and no clubs to be racing between, so all in all it's brill.

I've dealt with a few stressful things ( I can stress about anything!)
But I've also relaxed so much that a long standing muscle problem has spontaneously resolved, something I've been trying to achieve with professional massages etc. The extra mobility is amazing.

@JamesNesbittsBrows
Ditto

A slightly niche but still a benefit of lockdown I believe - you can manage your whole entire period from the comfort of your own home. No messing about in the toilets at work and the like, every cloud and all that!

Some days are good, some aren't. I definitely like the slower pace and spending more time with Dh and the DC. But my DC are 4 and 1 and not easy going, so it's very very hard work, relentlessly so. We are both working from home, but thankfully not very busy and currently still both getting full pay.

My life hasn't changed all that much in that DH and I were in most nights anyway, and our weekends were usually spend having a walk and pottering. But I miss the freedom, hate the uncertainty and worry. Miss my parents and friends, and miss older DS' normality as I know he'd rather it all went back to normal.'

Once I managed to let go of all the things I cannot control I started to enjoy it.
I love spending so much time with DS, he is funny and smart and very good company at 10 years old.
I love spending so much time with my dogs who now have a lot of very clever tricks to perform.
I run a small business and this is very scary but there is also opportunity for change and restructure which I wouldn’t have had otherwise so I’m trying to make it positive.
I’m also cooped up with STBXH and the great thing is that it’s a reasonably amicable divorce but this situation has firmly cemented that divorce was the only option for our relationship.

Family are having a harder time wfh. Finances are struggling not immediately but tightened our belts because long term outlook not good. Me personally I'm worrying about going back out amongst people because
Very worried for others and society trying to stay safe but for now it's giving me a break.

Yes loving it. No rush, no commute, no stressing about all the things we 'should' be doing. Extra precious time with dc (5 & 3), who are getting on better as time goes on.

I acknowledge that we're very lucky and have a large garden, so dc are happy as larry playing out. It can be a struggle juggling wfh and childcare but manageable.

It could of course easily go tits up - dp may be laid off, my elderly df could catch it (i have to visit to help with care), me/ immediate family could catch it and be unlucky etc - but for now i am so grateful for my circumstances. Heart goes out to those who are struggling.

Yes I'm loving it and my kids seem happier. I have a garden though and I'm still on full pay; if either of those circumstances changed I wouldn't be enjoying this as much at all.

I'm finding it ok at the moment - feel lucky that we haven't had much of a financial impact ; I've been furloughed but only worked few hours a week, DH can work totally from home. DS's aren't young (11 & 16) so reasonably easy to entertain etc. We're all naturally quite introverted so this quiet life suits us - although DS1 is more of a social butterfly and is missing his friends.

The novelty might start rubbing off though if we're still in lockdown after another 3 weeks though!!

I'm loving the lay in every morning. Not sure how I'm going to cope with early mornings! Plus I've started to get addicted to daytime t.v as I never watched it before.Now I've got time I'm addicted to bargain hunt and tenable!

It's great people are enjoying it but:
Mil lives alone since fil died 18 months ago. She was steuggling before lockdown with low mood and I worry how this will affect her if it keeps up
I have friends who are nurses, doctors and dieticians working directly with clovid patients and I worry about them
I have several friends due babies and a young niece and nephew. The thought of never seeing them again is awful
DS loves school, he misses friends. The babies are 4 months so they're far from good company, I'm split between him and needy babies, DH is wfh. I wouldn't want this to be their entire childhood, DS forgetting his friends and the twins never having them
Atm DH has a job but who knows how long for. We rent, landlord is furloughed. Nothing stopping him giving us a month's notice and selling up from under us cos he needs the money. I'd like landlord back at work
Our house isn't big enough with the growing twins but we can't move cos of lockdown. I can't keep them in my room til they're 18!

Life isn't that different for us. We are both still working (NHS), the childcare issue is a struggle and very stressful, work is stressful, but I have found a feeling of contentment on my days off. Initially I cried a lot but am trying to focus on positives. The kids are happy being off, we have a much quicker commute, we are saving a lot more money as there's nothing to spend it on, life feels more 'simple' and I like that.

I don't think there is anything wrong with trying to be positive, it will better for everyone's mental health in the longterm.

There is nothing wrong with trying to find some positives in this situation. I know how lucky I am to be in a comfortable household with people I love and like, to have a job which is relatively safe (at the moment, I'm an academic though and universities are likely to be screwed in the longer term), lucky to be healthy and have food in the cupboard and no elderly relatives to worry about. I don't think I'm smug or complacent or living in a bubble - I'm fully aware of how awful this is for so many people and of how very, very fortunate I am at the moment.

It is nice to be able to spend more time with family, in a less frantic, tiring atmosphere, it is nice to be able to have a bit more time to do things that you don't usually have time to do. It's ok to appreciate this stuff - it doesn't mean you don't understand and acknowledge the horror of what's going on outside your front door (or behind other people's front doors).

I wish none of us were in this situation, I wish that when my grandmother died last month we could have had a proper funeral for her, and I wish that my friends and colleagues in the NHS weren't dealing with this, and I wish that no one had lost their job. I wish that ds could see his girlfriend and go out with his mates. But we are where we are, in this shit situation, and those of us who can just need to make the best of it, and help others where we can.

I’ve just done a really good work out
Now breakfast for the children
Set them to with homeschool
I’ll do 20mins yoga, shower etc
Housework
Chill in garden whilst they go crazy on trampoline
Early Lunch
More school
Long walk in local forest
Dinner, tv, chill

Life is good, really good

I'm loving it cause I hate my job and I'm getting paid not to work. I want lockdown to continue as long as possible simply to avoid going back to work.

DD misses her friends though and DH is an essential worker so its not really made a difference for them.

I miss my parents though :(

My commute has become horrendous. Have to dodge the suburban walkers and runners, buses are only every hour now (was every 7 min)!

Glad others are having a better time of it, but I'm on my knees some days.