Which specific moment from this will stay with you forever?

[RosieLemonade]

Positive or negative.

The 'proof of life' with elderly neighbours for Thursday night clapping, and the sense that there was an outside world. And breaking a wedding present wooden spoon from enthusiastic clapping.

My first trip in a car after one of the DTs had a bike accident and DH had to come and get us. I hadn't seen the queues outside the supermarkets until then and we were about 3 months in.

Smashing up an old Wendy house with a crowbar in early April and ending up in a heap in tears because I was so scared and angry and frustrated.

My parents sending me a text with the contact details of their financial planner.

But the one thing that overrides it all is being a vaccine trial participant and feeling so scared about getting the active vaccine, and simultaneously scared about not getting it. And sitting there in that room in October with more people around me than I'd seen in six months and feeling a bit of hope, and watching all the people getting jabbed.

actually we drove home one thursday in May, with a takeaway and everyone was out clapping, so i hooted the horn

Sitting and sobbing on the last day of school before the closure in March 20. It just felt too huge for the kids, too scary, and so so unfair on them.

Boris going into intensive care. That was a really scary moment (not because I’m a fan, I’m really not!).

Seeing my mum last October and knowing that would likely be the last time for many many months.

Some lovely moments outside in the sunshine together last summer. I do appreciate where we live more, being in the countryside, being able to get somewhere green from our front door.

Thinking of positives - discovering how brilliant the local independent shops in my surrounding villages are, many of who now do click n collect or deliveries.

Camping in the garden, making damper bread on the bbq, and making friendship bracelets with dd. The tent practically fills our small garden.

The travel agent cancelling our Easter trip to Iceland as we were being to worry about if it was a good idea.

A very low key, but rather wonderful 50th birthday.

The day my mum could finally come and sit in our garden after the first lockdown and single person bubbles being allowed and my children running from the house to nanny (we hadnt told them she was there) and watching them hug after months apart, the memory still makes me tearful now and yes i know how lucky we are that im an only child to a single mum and that we dont have anything to do with MIL so we get a support bubble.

When we sat watching Boris on telly that night and he said ‘stay at home’. It was scary. It felt unreal.

I strongly remember watching a video of Chris Whitty briefing health professionals, I think it was 12th Feb and we’d only had those first few cases which had gone straight into high consequence infection units. It was linked on here and I’ve frequently wished more people had listened, on the off chance it might have made them better informed. The first lockdown announcement was very profound. Getting a shielding letter was frightening. Made redundant at the end of April, entirely unrelated to Covid but shit obviously. Fantastic was getting a really great job offer the day before Christmas Eve and getting my first jab two weeks ago. Also the amazing work that science has done and my 88 year old Dad still managing to weather it and having had both his jabs and now being as protected as he can be.

@Professionalplayingcards

Oh these are all so sad and yet some lovely. The man rushing over with the baby milk, why does the kindness of strangers bring you to tears almost more than the sad stories.

Bought me to tears also @Professionalplayingcards

The first day we were allowed to meet up with more than one person last June. I took dd5 to meet her best friend and his mum in the park. The kids saw each other from a long way off and ran towards each other, then pulled back several metres apart knowing without being reminded that they couldn't give each other a hug. They've known each other since they were babies and that was the first time they'd seen each other in 10 weeks. Heartbreaking.

Also i will always remember the day we hit 100,000 deaths, i wasnt expecting to be so affected by that milestone but for some reason i stood and sobbed in the shower for ages.

@BikeRunSki do you live in HD8? I think that anaesthetist is one of my best friends from school. That rainbow wall was amazing (we sent pictures from here that were added to it).

No one, particular moment. Overall, not seeing our daughter and first grandson, 7 months old now.

I suspect the darn we receive our vaccines will be pretty spectacular.

Leaving my house to get in the ambulance in the middle of the night, really struggling to breathe. I wanted to sneak in and kiss my children because I didn't know if I would see them again but I didn't want to wake them up and scare them so I just sat on the stairs and cried.
On a positive note - when my parents rang to tell me they had been vaccinated.

My neighbour losing her 1 year old daughter (not to covid). Only immediate family were able to attend the funeral, so the auntie who looked after her 4 days a week while both parents worked, couldn’t go. A couple of times I saw friends/relatives pop round to offer their condolences. Seeing them leave flowers, food parcels etc on the door step then stand at the garden gate will haunt me forever.

It was the first time I really realised just how far reaching the consequences of what was happening were. It was so much bigger than ‘just’ Covid.

Oh and Christmas Day - driving to my parents and seeing so many families meeting on doorsteps.

Falling on a walk, taking DC with me and being surrounded by a group of strangers who were all shouting "sorry we can't come closer because of the virus" whilst I struggled to get 2dc up off the floor and stop crying with a bashed up shoulder. I really felt part of the community

A conversation in early March with colleagues about whether some of our clinical trials would have to be shut down.

A conversation with a colleague about whether to keep DS off school, as he has chronic lung disease. It’s Easy to forget now, but we knew so little about the disease and the uncertainty made everything feel sort of dangerous.

Intense, relentless and at times frantic grant applications for covid research. Early on, we hadn’t properly settled on a national strategy, it sort of evolved as groups across the country put their heads together so everyone was throwing in applications for all sorts.

Being kicked, hit and screamed at by my ds, as he has SEN and wasn’t coping with having to learn in strict one hour slots between mine and DH’s meetings. Then wiping away my tears minutes before getting onto zoom and teams meetings for work.

High points:
Meeting my parents in our garden in August (they travelled down a really long way, just for the day). They brought their own camping chairs and food.

Sitting with my feet in the paddling pool while ds played on an absolute scorcher of a day, feeling like it was the most luxurious thing in the world!

@digginthedancingqueen, I have no idea. He was a bought in service rather than direct employee. We never did find out. The guy who did his holiday cover is still with us (he’s from a different consultancy).

Going to bed with a mild sore throat/cough on 13th March and waking up feeling like death about 5 hours later.

While self-isolating, my colleagues sending my laptop charger to me in the post because I'd left it at work.

Going to the supermarket for the first time after 23rd March and it being the quietest I'd ever seen and the shelves half-empty.

Standing in the middle of my nearest main road taking pictures of the 'emptiness'!

School staff delivering food to vulnerable families - there was a moment last year when some of us, all good friends, we sat socially distanced on the wall waiting to load our cars eating our way though a huge box of peas in the pod. The sun was shining, I felt like I didn't have a care in the world, ironically.

My dd turned 16 on the Wednesday before lockdown. She had so many plans. An Escape Room and burgers with her friends, some training courses, a holiday job lined up, camps in the summer etc. One by one everything was cancelled and our holidays too of course. Her stoic resignation and the fact she turned her anger and despair into an exercise plan has made me so proud of her. She's 17 in a few weeks and it makes me feel so sad. Worst thing has been family members dying and it not being possible to see them or attend funerals.

I found out I was pregnant in January 2020 and after having a previous HG pregnancy DH had already arranged to work from home to look after me, I’d already stocked up on loo rolls and pasta because I knew I wouldn’t be able to go to the shops or cook and DH and DD can survive quite happily on pasta while I’m ill so the first lockdown passed me by, because I wouldn’t have left my bedroom anyway.

It’s only really hit me how real it is since I’ve given birth and none of my family have met the baby and there’s no groups or coffee mornings just staying in the house or walking alone with the pram. The first time I left the house after 9 months and everyone walking around the town centre wearing masks and it looked like a zombie apocalypse, I never thought I’d see the day ordinary citizens were walking around in masks, you don’t realise how much you need to see people’s expressions to feel safe.

@andadietcoke - I do live in HD8.

Visiting my grandparents the day before the first lockdown was announced. Saying goodbye and wondering if I would ever see them again.

In October my 93yo dad was seriously ill hospital (not covid) there was a high chance he wouldn't make it and we weren't allowed to visit. After I dropped some things off at the hospital reception I sat in my carand yelled out "I love you dad". I knew he couldn't hear but hoped it would somehow get through to him.