Which specific moment from this will stay with you forever?

[RosieLemonade]

Positive or negative.

Dropping my girls off at school during the first lockdown. I cried every time it was like the apocalypse had happened and there I was not keeping my children safe at home. Makes me cry even now.

Tiger King was a great high light though

Boris telling us to stay home in 2020, and that many lives would be lost.

😢

AndreaMartelsCoat - shrugs if you think I’m being “mean” then feel free to report my post. I’ll survive being deleted, I mean I still think what I posted but you are of course free to disagree.

One day in March 2020, a few friends were visiting me, the last to leave for her flight that evening was my best friend. I hugged her so tight and deep down started to realised it was the last time I would do that for a while. I’ve seen her once, keeping 2m, in the last year . Will probably be another year before I hug her again.
Walking by empty shelves of toilet paper and pasta. It felt like being in a movie.

An extremely deep feeling I’ll never be able to forget, after playing my first concert ‘back’ at the beginning of June. I used to be on stage 3-4 times a week and suddenly had to go cold turkey. That first performance was so emotional and different. We had no audience and no clapping at the end, but we were back. It really felt like someone had just taken off the piece of tape that had covered my mouth for 3 months. I was speaking again, music was coming out again. I haven’t taken a single performance or normal day at work for granted ever since.

I will always remember people smiling at each other during the first lockdown. Leaving the house felt strange and we weren’t ‘allowed’ to interact or talk with others, so I enjoyed so much just smiling at other people during my walks. Children and animals passing by would make my day, I’d be wearing a huge grin after that for hours.

When the radio announced 161 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country.
Dh and I just looked at each other in total shock - he just said This will be uncontained.

That's when I did my massive supermarket shop.

Glorious summer evenings on the patio, with all my important people and a glass of wine.

There's been plenty of bad times and life has taken a shocking turn since, which makes those evenings even more special.

Going into work on Monday 16th March thinking: "DH has been pretty annoying with all his Covid 19 anxiety. It will be good to get a bit of normality at work"
And then work was just the manager handing out laptops and a meeting about how to work from home.
I've not been back since.

The standout moments for me
travelling home from a family meal on 8th March and hearing Italy had gone into Lockdown and the prospect being both very alien and a taster of what was to come.

Hearing quite early on that a work acquaintance had died from it, in his late 40s. Being absolutely gutted and stunned, and brought home the severity of it.

Queuing for tesco for 1.5 hours on a spring day and whilst incredibly boring, being almost pleasantly bemused how good natured and compliant people were.

Being in London the week before Christmas, it was like a ghost town, and felt sad for all the bars and restaurants that would normally have been swarming, with people spilling on to the street, being eerily quiet and closed.

On a good note, the boys from the local football team went around to all the elderly people in the locality and did shopping for anyone who needed it.

Realising I had contracted the bloody virus just before I started shielding and fearing for my life as I am CEV.

Walking to work through deserted streets and all the 'no cash or stock on premises' notices in shop windows.

Being in the supermarket with dh, he said "shall we get some beans?" and a man passing by snorted and said "you'll be lucky!"

Going for a walk on VE day. We started on country lanes full of cow parsley and hawthorn blossom. As we got back into town there were front garden tea parties, music playing, bunting up, people waving at us, calling hello and chatting. We broke the rules by sitting on the grass in the churchyard and eating our sandwiches. Felt like freedom.

This lockdown has been much, much harder but weird in that I can't pick one stand out moment. From new year to now feels like one suffocating amorphous grey mass.

There's a few for me. My sister was terminally ill and was in hospital when it all began. When she got out she was struggling to get a supermarket delivery spot and even when she did, the only thing she was able to eat was soup which everyone else was panic buying. The last day the schools were in, I sent the kids to school, raced to Asda and it was absolutely horrible trying to pick up enough food for her from the slim pickings left. I almost cried. I remember that whole week having a constant headache and on the Saturday morning i threw up purely from adrenaline come down. I'm not one for being melodramatic, but after that day I am paranoid about ever running out of food and not being able to feed the DC.

The last few months of my sisters life were obviously tainted by everything. I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I would like. She passed in the summer so we were allowed to go and visit her at the hospice, but we had to sit outside the window and only had an hour a day with her. Her funeral was horrible, because we couldn't have everyone who wanted to attend and there wasn't anything afterwards either.

Somewhere in amongst it all, I turned 40 too!!

It's strange thinking back now to when it all first started. There really was a horrible sense of dread and panic. I do actually think I'm kind of used to things the way they are now. I'm one of the lucky ones, DH and I have worked throughout. I WFH now. I'm used to the kids never being in school, never going out much, wearing my mask to the shops etc. I don't like it, but I'm used to it. I remember this time last year, it felt like the world would end. But you just kind of get through it.

Maybe not a moment but definitely a feeling, a feeling of relief knowing my parents had been vaccinated. I didn't realise how much I had been worried about them catching it until I knew they had both been vaccinated it was such a huge relief that it brings me to tears just thinking about it. I know its not 100% and there's still the 2nd jab to go but knowing they have at least some resistance makes me so happy.

The moment I most looking forward to in the future is taking that step out of the aeroplane feeling the sun on my face, I know I've a long way to go before that happens but it does keep me going

Taking my children to school and pre school on 20th March, their last day and absolutely crying my eyes out.

I spoke to another parent outside pre school and I said that it's just so sad, my eyes were filling up and she said yes, she was sad too and she wiped away a tear.

I'll never, ever, forget that morning. I spent the next 3 days crying solidly.

I did my worst moment further up the thread but typing it made me cry so here goes with good memories.

Taking my kids to the beach in August last year and watching them play carefree, also the same in October.

Seeing my mum in her garden in person after lockdown 1.

My mum getting her first COVID injection.

My closest loved ones all still being here for Christmas 20. I feel very fortunate and my heart goes out to all those who lost those they love.

Watching my children back at school in the Autumn term (albeit via the school's Facebook page)

Getting 2 'lockdown' kittens last July. They've been such a joy!

All the anxiety I suffered.

@Donoteatthekittens

AndreaMartelsCoat - how is calling people granny killers not mean? Do you think that telling people to put cheese in their coffee instead of buying milk is rational? So many people on here went batshit crazy.

Absolutely!

@unlimiteddilutingjuice

Going into work on Monday 16th March thinking: "DH has been pretty annoying with all his Covid 19 anxiety. It will be good to get a bit of normality at work" And then work was just the manager handing out laptops and a meeting about how to work from home. I've not been back since.

I still remember that Monday, because it is a family birthday. We were sitting around the MILs and she is extremely vulnerable. Bojo made his announcement at 5pm that the vulnerable had to shield. We all sat looking at each other and said 'we'd best go home then!'

@DownstairsMixUp

My dying in a hit and run last year during lockdown

So terrible for you

@MiddleParking

The worst, most anxiety-inducing bit for me was the empty supermarket shelves right at the start.

This. I never want to see that again.

Walking into Aldi after the announcement of the first lockdown and seeing the cleared shelves.

Aisles crammed with people, their carts loaded up, but whole sections empty.

A woman with learning difficulties crying down the phone there was no veg - there were no potatoes left and later, nothing in the freezer - no frozen pizza left.

One guy helping himself to all the handwash from the toiletries section and nobody browsing the 'Aisle of Random'.

On the buses, drivers had covered up the holes in the screens with clingfilm to protect themselves from us.

On my way to and from work, all the electronic billboards were showing Covid-19 messages - combined with announcements over the tannoys thanking essential workers, maintain social distancing, stay home, stay safe etc.

It was and still is dystopian - the vulnerable have no one to help them and only the useful survive......

The glass of ice cold white wine I had the Friday of the first week of homeschool. It was the first week back after Easter and I felt like I'd been clubbed around the head by my 10yr old!

It was totally delicious, I felt like I had truly earnt it and I sat in the glorious spring sunshine - I didn't sip it, I glugged it down.

Me and DS having to live seperate from DH during the first lockdown for two and half months. Never again.

@wlv12

My mum dying alone in hospital on Christmas Day from covid.

Sorry for your and everyone's losses.