We'd made some lovely friends in our neighbourhood in the months before lockdown, and our families would fairly regularly meet for drinks at each others houses. We all have boys of a similar age, so they all played too.
But then Lockdown arrived and our family stuck to all the guidelines...meanwhile the other families carried on seeing each other for BBQs in each other's gardens.
We got invited to one, but we said we'd better not, as we weren't allowed and it's hard to social distance with three very young boys. Now we don't get asked anymore, presumably because they know our position of respecting the Gov guidelines/rules.
I feel really sad when I can hear them all partying and I have dreadful Fear of Missing Out, but all along I have felt we should do the right thing, not just for our family but to stop the spread to others. I'd feel comfortable now for one of us adults to pop over to say hi, as that's allowed (ish, the gatherings are more than six people!) but because we're not invited, I can hardly knock on the door and say can I come round the back for an hour?!!!
I feel like we've been frozen out - although I appreciate it was our choice to stick to the rules - so how do I make friends with them again when lockdown eases even more? Thanks for reading! (Name changed xxx)