How is your life different to the beginning of the year?

[Nellodee]

From my perspective, other than taking precautions around my elderly parents, there are now few differences between my life now and before this all kicked off. I have a larger gap between myself and my students, my rooms are colder, my students are whingier, and I have to move about a lot more between lessons. My kids have stopped their after school clubs. I have stopped visiting one extremely vulnerable friend.

How different is your day to day life from say, February?

My lungs hurt and I’m breathless when walking dc to school. I used to be very fit before I had covid in March.

My dh works at home which is lovely as we’ve seen much more of him.

Life is quieter but I like that.

My anxiety and depression has got 10 times worse. Some days I find it a major struggle to get out of bed and I feel like crying.

I work from home now and love it. When my parents visit we sit out in the garden under an awning instead of in the sitting room. They're the only differences really. My interests are all solitary and/or outdoorsy anyway so no real change.

Only significant difference now is that DH is still wfh and will be permanently. I love it - we're saving loads every month on travel and he saves three hours a day (commute and lunch hour). Plus I love having him around.

We don't have any family so not seeing others isn't an issue (no friends either). Apart from the little things like occasionally queuing for a shop or leaving contact details at the pub, everything is much the same as it was in February.

No commute!

I wfh two days a week before but am now home all the time and don't think I'll ever go back to the office.

We eat as a family, and I only cook one meal. I used to get home at 1930 so too late for the kids.

Ipanema.

We are kind of in our new normal.

(Italy) Hoping that the kids will go into schools when they begin on 24th (I also teach) and hope it's smooth.

We had a UK guest last week and she was surprised how normal (but with masks) everything is.

The biggest change for me is not being able to attend a funeral in June, and not working at the UK summer school I usually manage in July and August.
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We have been seeing everyone we want as those restrictions were lifted in May. I do think though we may seem some re-introduced. The state of emergy was prolonged yesterday, (which means the govt can introduce measures it sees fit without parliament etc) so we are all a bit on tenterhooks as cases rise with people coming off holiday mainly.

Fingers crossed for all of us!

I can't do my hobbies (acting and singing) and really struggling as theatre is my biggest love in life but other than that things are pretty much the same, just with more masks and hand sanitiser!

DH and I are still WFH, which is not good as we don't have any comfortable office-type spaces.

DD1 is struggling with massive anxiety over the transition to secondary school.

Most of the kids clubs have vanished, youngest has quit swimming lessons earlier than I would have liked.

I rarely see my family (too far away, and recently under renewed lockdown anyway). My dad has learnt how to use whatsapp for video calling though, which is good.

Bits of life you have to do the same, bits of life that makes it colourful all still on hold, full cinemas, live sporting crowds, live music, galleries, pubs, mindless shopping (occasionally). Local events, jumping on a train for a day out.

Spontaneity - that's what's missing most. And it's a big miss here. It will come back. Life's a bit dull until it does mind.

We are reading more which is great but still not the same.

Quite different, I was made redundant as soon as employers had to start contributing to furlough costs.

All gigs, theatre trips and main holiday cancelled. No spontaneous trips away or days out.

DH wfh and constantly in Teams meetings.

DC are back to school as of today and swimming lessons start this week too so that's a bit of normality. Staggered start times and no wrap around care would be tricky if I was still employed.

Lost my job I adored
The industry was employed in and our home business is based on (aviation) has been decimated.
Have a cheating husband
Being stalked by the unhinged OW
Our own business is in a pause. No work since 8th March.
3 adult kids home (although soon to leave)
Skint
Developed a stutter and a tick
Rarely leave the house to socialise
Walk every day because its free
Rely on click and collect
Not been in a clothes shop since Feb
No holidays
Feel like a loser
Not sleeping well, average 3 hours.
Have started to reflect on my life heavily in the past months. Feel an utter failure and wonder if I should have given my cancer survival statistic to someone who is winning at life.
Phoned the Samaritans for the first time in my life.

Lost our jobs, house, savings and DS is now at a new school.

Mental health support has vanished (just when I need it the most!)

My rheumatologist is doing all appointments via phone and no blood tests so I feel quite ill too.

Anyhoo. Life goes on - so they say!

No different really. I was already WFH and that job just continued, although it's been somewhat quieter due to Covid. I had just taken 3 trips, one long haul, one short haul and one UK trip in the 3 months preceding so I wasn't planning on travelling over the following few months anyway. I always grocery shop online and didn't have huge issues getting slots. No young DC so didn't have to deal with that. Don't do anything regular such as gym or cinema so that wasn't an issue. So in short, nothing I'm doing now is different to back then!

I take more notice when I hear a family member coughing and temperature checking the children when we leave to go to school (although when my children have a temperature it’s pretty obvious but still like to do it)

Remembering to put a clean mask in my handbag in case I need it. Washing and gelling my hands more.

Just have to be more organised, currently looking at my local swimming pool’s timetable to see which slot fits best with my daily timetable.

DP is home all the time now - buying more milk, teabags, coffee and biscuits.

WFH for the majority of the week and avoiding shops due to the requirement to wear masks. Didn't have much of a social life anyway so not missing much else!

I can't hug my two adult sons. I haven't since March and it breaks my heart.
Rheumatoid arthritis gone haywire and treatment options limited because of covid so I have been in constant pain since January.
Was planning lots of travel this year after finishing cancer treatment.

Wfh longer than I was in the office (started Oct last year).
I miss the social side of things.
Eldest son finished Uni with good degree (thankfully not affected by lockdown), but nobody is hiring in his area and his Dad having kicked him out (sent him over here for a week and then said they didn't want him back - 4 years of housing him while he did his degree was apparently enough of a fatherly stint) he's back with me where he can't even pick up the summer job he had last year due to being too far away (used to get a taxi provided for 4am start)
Youngest son started college online which limits options for socialising.
I used to take a blind lady out shopping every other Sunday, but no idea when that will be allowed again, as can't socially distance with someone who needs to hold your arm and she's in her 90s, so I'd hate to risk passing on Covid.
Running club have done lots of virtual events, and are just sorting out having small training sessions, but it won't be the same. I miss parkrun and taking part in races.

No office so no face to face meetings, hardly talk to anyone outside my immediate project teams, no lunchtime walks with others, no office social events or it should have been "community" week this month.
No business travel
No gym
No running club
No races
No parkrun
No foreign travel
No holiday / weekends away (yet)
Can't visit family & friends in certain parts of the country due to additional restrictions there
Avoiding public transport
No spontaneous coffee shop stops
Hardly drive the car
No HUGS!!!
Too many hours on zoom.
I've left the city i live in once in the last 6 months, for me that's unheard of, I'm often only home one weekend in every two or three and travel with work as well.

Everything is more difficult.

DC are back at school but no breakfast/ after school clubs.
Staggered drop offs and collections means the school run takes me an hour each time.
All the Rules.
No spontaneity.
I have realised that I am not important to people who are important to me (eg not being invited to meet ups because of SD and numbers).
DH working at home is awful. He just works, constantly. He does nothing else round the house which was fine when he was at the office and not contributing to the mess.
My work is relentless and I have to work every child free second I get.
All the food decisions and meal prep - I have to send in packed lunches, DH has lunches at home now and I no longer meet people for lunch/ coffee / dinner as I did before.
I am constantly thinking about the food shop - I hate the food shop.
Nothing to look forward to.
I hate my house, spending so much time here over lockdown has made me hate it.
I want to go clothes shopping but I always have DC with me, I can't try things on and I don't want to wear a face mask for too long a time. It is joyless.
I always have DC with me because DH is always working and I have no one that will have them (my parents did previously but, Covid).
Uncertainty about the future, will we have jobs? Will we get ill. Will the schools shut again? (I think I will lose my job if they do again).

It is all just so depressing.

work has things in place like bubbles and not mixing.

Still seeing people with in the guidelines, still going out.

I wear a mask when I need to.

Hugely different and much worse. Still working from home, isolated, frustrated, lonely, mental health not good. Its shit

I have visa stickers in my passport that I'll never get to use because the trip was cancelled and the visas were only valid for those set dates.

I am unemployed. I was discriminated against. I am pregnant.

I now always check I've got my keys, purse, phone, mask and hand sanitiser in my hand bag before I leave the house.

I walk (waddle) more and leave others a wider berth when passing people on pavements.

I eat every meal with my DH instead of just dinner. We have coordinated 'break time' for a cuppa and a slice of cake.

I have a far more leisurely start to the day.

I know my neighbours well and I like them.

I don't rush.

I sleep better.

I avoid shops and only see my family one household at a time.

I meet friends for a walk in the park instead of in a pub.

I now have Netflix.

Massive difference.
Wfh for us both.
Not eating /drinking out much
No theatre, museums, galleries, events (I work in the cultural sector so this was at least weekly)
Just back to the cinema, which we normally do weekly at least due to limitless passes but very little on!
Not seeing friends as much
Only have one freelance job on, not loads of work around.
No holidays or weekends away.

So pretty different

Oh yeah also my ongoing mh condition is pretty up and down

I’m on antidepressants due to anxiety.
DH WFH all the time rather than 2 days a week.
I now work 2 days rather than 3, so earn less and work has changed beyond all recognition (Dentistry/ teaching Dentistry).
Haven’t hugged my mum and dad since March. They used to do childcare 2 days, now none. They miss DS and he misses them even though we see them from the patio weekly.
No foreign holidays this year (had 3 booked).
Social life minimal due to local lockdown and revolves around meeting at parks and NT places.

OTOH nearly mortgage free thanks to a kind gift. Financially ok which is lucky.
All of us still healthy so far thank goodness.

This too shall pass.