Has anyone’s else’s life not really changed?

[BrieAndChilli]

Apart from going to work/kids going to school my life has not changed at all. I never really went out drinking , never went to pub and we probably eat out in a proper restaurant once a year. Don’t go to cinema although DH takes the boys to the latest marvel/Star Wars films do maybe twice a year. I don’t go to the gym or other sports activities, I don’t go to the theatre. We do go on family days out maybe once a month to somewhere further afield and maybe a national trust once a month.
I go to the shops but mainly food/B&M which I am still doing otherwise it’s shopping for kids clothes which I’m not doing or am ordering online. Otherwise my life was taking kids to school, going to work, and taking kids to various activities.
Nobody except DH family has asked me to take part in online quiz/zoom chat/ other virtual parties, no one has tagged me in post 10 pics of being a mum type posts,
I’ve tree aches out to people and asked how they are doing, dropped schooltopic related crafts parcels round to some of DS2 friends. I get a couple of messages back but no-one is the first to text me.
I think I’ve realised that I’m alsways the one helping people out with childcare, making cakes for thier kids parties, giving advice etc but actually I’m not top of anyone’s list. And that actually my life (and by default me?) am pretty boring.
Even the kids moan when I ask them to play a board game with me or watch a film.

My life hasn’t changed, I don’t have any friends so weren’t meeting up with anyone before this and the only family member I have is my sister who I don’t see often anyway.

Not going to work or school must be a pretty big change for you isn’t it?!..it’s huge for me (I mean yes the other stuff is big For me and I went out lots Restaurants, theatres etc but if I had to name the two biggest it would be work and school! That is what has changed everyday life as I knew it!)

Aside from school and my dh going to work not a lot has changed. We can’t eat out as we have two disabled children and one has Coeliac. We don’t go far of a weekend anyway.

It's got better. I've got my family home and don't have to see anyone!

I'm dreading this all ending now (lockdown, not the virus)

My anxiety has gone completely because I don't have to worry about seeing people.

DHs daily life barely changed... He was still going to work. Sometimes going to the Supermarket. But less visitors at home, no Scouts, no weekend trips.

No school meant a massive change for me (and them).

Life hasn’t changed for me really as I’ve been going to work the whole time.

The only change is having my husband and children home all day every day and it’s been wonderful.

My husband keeps saying that our life has never been better and I’m inclined to agree.

Instead of meeting friends for coffee after school drop off we are meeting via HouseParty three mornings a week. My kids are at home but my life hasn't really changed much. Lost 40% income but managing and hopefully just temporary. I'm happy on my own and I'm doing same exercise classes just via Zoom. I'm lucky have a big garden and pool so not feeling deprived. My family live in another country (parents long dead) so not missing anyone.

My life has changed loads. But I'm child free living with just my partner. Neither of us are going out of the house to work. We used to eat out a lot, go to the cinema, theatre, galleries and museums. I'm also an artist so I used to go to a lot of art events at an organisation I'm a member of. I am doing things like seeing family via video message but otherwise my life feels like totally different. I understand we all have different demands on our time but are you happy as things are/were?

Not massively, secondary age children so not much school related stuff, seasonal work and this is a quiet time, I'm not a big shopper, I still go food shopping. I don't see my friends but we keep in touch, my family don't li 've near enough to visit often.

The difference for me will depend on if things get back to normal for my summer work.

Three changes.

1. I currently WFH rather than from an office but do the same work Monday to Friday. I much prefer it as well.

2. not being able to go to the pub/restaurant on a Saturday with friends

3. I've lost the pleasure of a good walk as the streets are so busy and you have to dance around people to socially distance

I miss looking forward to the weekend which made up for a dull week in the office. I now prefer weekdays WFH but the
hardest thing is having NOTHING to look forward to but overall it hasn't changed a lot.

I was asking DH did the fact no one wanted to zoom with us mean we had no friends!!

I'm happy enough. We did go out to eat pretty frequently once or twice a week and I do miss that.

Mine hasn’t changed at all.
The only thing is that I’m not taking Dd to school and back. I didn’t have any friends to see, we could never afford to go anywhere or do anything anyway.
Everyone talking about hairdressers - I can only afford once every couple of years for a cut anyway!
Dh always did the food shopping once a week.

It’s changed in one bloody good way, it’s given me a break from seeing Dh family and my dad.

I'm much healthier. I'm still working, but only 40ish hours now, and no commute or kids activities. I've started walking and running and gardening in the extra time.

I am the same.I didn't go to pubs cinema theatres hairdressers or parties before due to anxiety and not particularly liking these things.Also I worked 55 hours a week so had little freetime.
The lockdown has meant more time for myself,I've seen DH more than once a month.I don't really miss people and surprisingly not even the job I previously lived for.

I would say I have had weeks that were lockdown-like, but usually more often in winter. So I sometimes have a couple of weeks where I spend the weekend mostly in the flat, but it was balanced by having busy weeks. I'd say a standard week for me pre-lockdown would be:

1. Up at 7:30, get home between 6-7. Get bus or train to work.
2. Some kind of leisure activity - meeting a friend for a show or dinner in the week.
3. Drinks or socialising with colleagues every week or so.
4. Had bf over every other weekend so that would usually involve dinner out, lots of long walks, possibly a visit to a National Trust site or the cinema, going to the pub.
5. Couple of times a week looking around the shops in town and going for a coffee.

So yeah, whilst by social life wasn't intensely busy, it has changed quite a bit. I don't miss commuting or the rat race, but the rest of my 'old' life I miss a lot.

It must be a pretty strange life if all of this has had no impact on you

i was disabled and housebound before coronavirus came along. the only thing i don’t do now is go to a weekly mental health support group. this is beginning to take the shine off things a little.

my life was already small. it’s just a bit smaller now.

Yup me too. Life hasn't changed much. This saddens me tbh.

The only changes here are work and school. But those are big changes!

I'm a teacher, so pre lockdown I was "on" from 8:30-3:30, constantly talking to someone, whether I was explaining to a full class or helping individuals, or even at break/lunch there was always someone asking for help with homework etc. Now I'm still working, but it's a very, very different day. I record my lessons early in the morning (so the kids have them by 9 and can plan their own day). Then I barely speak to anyone for the rest of the day (I do have to help dd with her school work, but she doesn't actually need too much input from me). It's a huge change to my life!

My social life hasn't changed at all!

Definitely changed for me. Running around doing school runs, school activities, swimming etc. Going to my hobby, shopping etc all gone.

However I've done tons of decorating and gardening, and dug my bike out and enjoy exploring my village.

Quite enjoying the rest but that's mostly because the weather has been nice. If it had been winter, I'd be tearing my hair out.

When I reflect on it, I don’t have great experiences of friendships. In my life people just seem to like to moan at me about various issues they're having, while showing very little interest in my life! Maybe I’ve been unlucky, maybe most people just prefer to talk about themselves. I guess I do too but no one is interested! So I’ve realised meeting someone for coffee or whatever is just a chore, I’d rather read a good book! I’ve never enjoyed the cinema, I thinks it’s very over priced for what it is. Museums and stuff are ok for occasional visits. I like eating out but being at home I’ve branched out into some new recipes and have been pleased with the results! I didn’t have a major social life before lockdown and I want one even less now. I’m happy in my own company and lockdown has reinforced that for me.

I find this quite strange, does that mean you never went to the cinema, restaurants, theatre, sports events, swimming, gym, concerts, art galleries, exhibitions, museums, cafes, theme parks, national trust type places, friends/families houses or had people over??? How did you spend your free time before lockdown?