I’m Sad Today ☹️

[AmICrazyorWhat2]

No real point to this thread, just needed to share with others living overseas that I’m sad today. This time last year I was visiting friends and family in the UK- It’s Thanksgiving week in the US so extra time off, plus airfares to the UK are cheap in November.🤣

So it’s now been a full year since I’ve seen them and I’m sad. I’m sure others are feeling the same way. Let’s hope the vaccines allow us to travel again next year.🤞🤞🤞

I'm also in the US and I've been really missing my family the last few months, haven't been able to see them since last summer. We had a trip for Spring Break which then got rescheduled for the summer but then of course that was cancelled too.
I was really hoping that we'd be able to go next summer but I read yesterday that it could be August before the general population in my State will get the vaccine which probably won't leave us enough time for a trip before the new school year starts again.

I get it. We are only in Switzerland not as far away. But it sucks.

@BackToWhereItAllBegan. Ugh. I’m hoping for a summer trip as well, but worse case, I’m definitely having a British Christmas. It’s been ages and I don’t care about the weather!

I haven't been back since August 2019 so I sympathise!

I came so close to booking a flight to the UK last week. I have a very unhappy family member there who I just want to hug and take care of. It's so hard.

Ugh we booked Christmas flights in the summer so we would have the option as I was heartbroken we didn’t just go. Now I’m really regretting it as I feel like we really shouldn’t be travelling but it will break my mum and kids’ hearts if I pull the plug.

Mine too, but I feel like I’m the only grown up in the room. I miss home so badly though so I get you OP

@IJumpedAboardAPirateShip I’m slightly ( very) envious!

It’s the 14-day quarantine that I can’t manage, I just don’t have that time available, plus time for actually visiting people. Oh well, it’ll seem even getter when we finally get there!!

“Better

@AmICrazyorWhat2 I come from an Industrial Northen English city which most people would never ever consider going to but now I can't think of anywhere I'd rather spend Christmas😢

I'm only as far away as Ireland. I can get home to England to see my family no problem but would have to take the risk of travelling (which I'm reluctant to do) and then would need to quarantine for two weeks when I get back. I will go if I absolutely need to as I have elderly parents at home, but would prefer to avoid going if I can. It's difficult and I'm sad, I'd normally do a pre-Christmas trip home.

@AmICrazyorWhat2 we will be spending our quarantine with my parents and my brother will come for Christmas. They’re now changing the rules if you have a (private!) covid test after 5 days and it’s negative you don’t have to quarantine e the whole 2 weeks but regardless we won’t be doing our usual sojourn into London and probably will only see a handful of other friends willing to come to the countryside and sit in the garden. DH and I are both WFH until July (confirmed by both our companies) and the schools are still 100% online so we can isolate upon return as well. It’s a big price to pay as we intend to test and isolate before we travel as well

@IJumpedAboardAPirateShip. It’s definitely complicated. It’ll be worth it to see family though. My Dad’s classed as extremely vulnerable health-wise so we can’t quarantine with them. He wouldn’t let us in the house.🤣. Roll on the vaccines.

I am in NZ and miss my Mum, I could not get back for her 90th in May and feel I have let her down. My flights in May were cancelled. I had flights in early October which were cancelled and moved to the end of October. I changed those to March 2021 as I would have had to do 2 weeks quarantine in each country. UK has now added Qatar to their 'safe corridor' and I no longer have to quarantine in the UK but do in NZ.

I am scared I may travel and then take Covid19 to my Mum, which would be dreadful - it is a tough decision to make. I was last in the UK in October and normally return 3 times a year.

Me too. Someone in my family passed away and I "went" to the funeral on a live stream. It was horrible and lonely.
I am with you op. I never felt it too much before because a bit of penny pinching and time management ment I could always manage a visit. Never in a million years thought I would not be allowed to.
Makes me also feel sad for the hundreds of millions all over the world past and present who never got to go back.

Me too. We’re in France so not very far either but after more than a year without going home it feels like much further.

I checked flights recently to see what options there are. There are no direct flights to Dublin from Geneva and the ones via Amsterdam or Zurich are horribly inflated. It’s just shit all around really.

It's been just over 12 months since mum and dad visited us in Australia. They normally come twice a year. I had a small cry today I miss them dreadfully and I know they miss us too.

I know how you all feel. I haven’t seen my family since May 2018. I have my in-laws here, well “here” as in 500 miles away so we see them once a year.

I always find Christmas here in the US a bit of a letdown, compared to the UK. I don’t get that giddy excited feeling in the run-up like I did in the UK. It’s just not the same in a way I can’t quite find the words to describe. We always go to the in-laws and there are around 25 of us and it always snows a lot there. But it’s still not “right”.

That said, I do enjoy Thanksgiving. My husband (American) says I’ve become a pro at it. I love watching the Macy’s parade - so glad that’s not been cancelled this year. And I cook a mean turkey. It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year at work for me. The atmosphere is so relaxed and we get a paid 4-day weekend (maybe that’s why everyone is in a good mood). I’m really looking forward to the next 4 days.

I feel you all. I'm in NZ but can't leave because we are not residents yet so we wouldn't be able to get back in. Even if we could, we can't afford for both of us to quarantine and work would not allow us the time off.
Life is so great out here but it's tinged with such sadness by missing family and knowing what a hard time they are having back home.

I'm flying mid Dec after a year away. I sailed through this until the end of summer, but have been going downhill since. I live on my own here and am usually absolutely fine but the lack of an end point and thinking that I wouldnt be able to get home til next summer got to me. But we are now allowed to work online from anywhere for a couple of weeks so I'm able to go. I will be lockedin my house for 14 days, but it's a small price to pay and I'll visit my mum straight after that so I should be as risk-free as possible.

Flights for Christmas - booked in Feb - have just been cancelled by BA so we are not going back to the UK. Plus we missed our regular summer trip - so haven't seen family since summer 2019. Elderly parents and in-laws are missing the grandkids - and we are missing them.
Fingers crossed we can go back early in 2021.
It really does suck.

Who were you flying with @TrueNorthStrongAndFree

@BritWifeinUSA. Happy Thanksgiving! I’m currently contemplating my turkey. I can produce a pretty good Thanksgiving meal too but I’m not in the mood this morning.

I need to get that bird on the oven and go for a walk, it’s sunny and cool here.

I agree that Christmas is less exciting here, but I still like it- just not quite as much as in the UK.😉

Happy Thanksgiving. DH cookrd a turkey but delivered it whole to DS and his family. We are having a lovely big salad then pie. Lots of pie. And wine.

I have not been home since early 2029, when my lovely DM died. I couldn't face it later in year, but then it was too late. I so miss my family and would jump on a plane in a heartbeat if possible. But it's not. So I shall wait and look forward to next year.

💐 and 🍾 to everyone missing someone this year.

@onelostsoulswimminginafishbowl. My mum & sister and a lot of my friends are in NZ.

If it helps any, it brings me great comfort that they are all well and currently pretty safe there. I wouldn't want any of them coming here right now.

How have you found the move?

We were planning a trip back this summer that got cancelled. It was tricky to coordinate as it was us + kids and then SIL + family coming from Australia and we had to jiggle everyone's schedules--hell with term dates! We haven't been back since 2016 (my mum moved to the USA, but dad + stepmum are in the Middle East, so we have to switch off visits).

At the rate things are going with the vaccine I don't know if we'll be able to make 2021 either.