Is it just me?

My first lockdown thought was 'What a relief! I don't have to pretend to be well and go out.' That's Fibromyalgia for you.

Even though I knew the lockdown would continue my heart sunk when I heard it would be at least another 3 weeks. My DH is loving it, he wouldn’t admit it but he’s happiest just having me for company. He loves our family but he prefers it when it’s just us. I’ve been married long enough to know! He says he doesn’t need friends which I think is sad but that’s how he is. I love him dearly but I need that social interaction with people and miss my DC and DGD so much. We FaceTime yes but nothing compares to a good meal around the table, plenty of laughs and the hugs and kisses we so took for granted before all this. I know we’re lucky with a nice house and garden and us, family and friends well at the moment which I pray will last. So I kick myself up the ‘proverbial’ every now and again to be grateful for what I do have while so many have lost their lives or loved ones to this horrendous virus. Keep safe everyone x

My greatest pleasure is no noise from the school opposite! The general peace and quiet are wonderful - so healing.

I am hoping that, if this lockdown goes on long enough, people will start to see that maybe they don't need to drive/travel into the city every day after all. That would not only save them money and stress, but ease the traffic congestion and pollution.

The lack of road traffic and planes are particularly marked and such a relief.

Hi everyone especially polnan. I was widowed in November so do understand where you are coming from. It’s been a steep learning curve for me. When I cry I’m not sure whether it’s because of my loss or because of the nightmare scenario of covid19. I think lots of us are very emotional right now.
I’m lucky in that I have a garden and live in a lovely part of the country. I’ve not lived on my own before and both my daughters live many miles away.One works for the NHS. I’ve been very grateful for the friends who keep in touch. One FaceTimes me every day at 4pm and it helps give some routine to my day. I think in someways the quiet is helping me come to terms with things. We are all different aren’t we.
All the best to everyone

I don’t think we must be introverted to enjoy this time as I think Bluebelle said, and another poster decried us for being smug, which is a bit unfair.

Since moving to where I now live several years ago, home has always seemed the best place to be, and since retirement even more so.

Not saying I would want this state of affairs to be permanent, but reduced social contact is not a problem.

If this makes me smug or introverted, then I apologise.

And I pray that all my family stay safe, I cannot imagine the heartache some are going through.

totally agree with Jeanlang about retirement, i said i was treating this as if i had retired(still 2 years away), the only downside not having the freedom of travel. but its great that i am not running around for everyone, that they have had to cope, can cope and had better not expect it to go back to the old way when this is over. enjoying the quiet, happy to shop once a week or less and getting all those jobs done around the house. miss having the grandkids to look after but lucky enough to be able to wave and talk through the window on the day i shop. take care everyone

I’m okay, and counting my blessings. Not enjoying it though, I just feel so guilty all the time. For sitting reading in the garden while so many are stuck in with no outdoor space. For having a guaranteed income while so many are worrying about their future. Even for being on here while so many don’t have any technology or WiFi to keep them entertained and in touch with the outside world.

There are some positives for all of us, and I hope we keep them when it’s all behind us. Less pollution, more working from home, less anti-social behaviour, time to think about what’s important, individuals and communities helping the vulnerable. And more appreciation of the front line workers who are usually just taken for granted.

But I hope it’s over soon.

I’m cat sitting still for clients unable to return home. So this really is enforced idleness for me. I’m not at home to do any of those tasks that haunt you in the back of your mind. I can only live in the moment, sewing, reading and knitting in the sun with their delightful cat for company. I count my blessings constantly ...

I am relishing the quiet road with very little traffic. The periods when children aren't screaming and yelling running up and down the road, the thump of a football in the grassed area opposite. What I am not looking forward to once this ends is the drunken parties that will no doubt be held to catch up with, sorry - celebrate - the end of so many restrictions.

I do have so much to be grateful for but am still loathing every minute of the lockdown. Unlike some others on this thread I love the noise and the bustle of normal life and am never happier than when I’m in the company of others. Household jobs have to be done but give no pleasure. I like to rush through them and then on to something more interesting!

I love not having to get up early every day that my youngest sons in college!(hes 17 at weekend) & yes still has me getting him up& doling out breakfast& pills(he takes a few each day) & getting him off on time! and i like choosing what to do when(aside from making meals) so good there- nothing to rush about for..downside is making the said meals 3 times a day for 2 sons still at home,if was just me id eat whenever i felt like it..and all the extra washing & cleaning but still,at least theyre safe& theyre company.(when they emerge from their gaming consoles!)

Unfortunately i think the thugs& antisocials will go wild!

I wouldn't go as far as loving it but I'm certainly very happy and contented. ?
I don't worry about catching the virus, that's wasted energy to me, much better spent on positive things.

Haha,i didnt mean my sons- it was a reply to MaggieMaybe- about the less antisocial behaviour at the moment.

I am fine with it, having done many silent retreats before, I find this a good time to slow down and take stock. I have also been putting off many jobs that needed doing around the house, but, I am still putting them off a bit, and prevaricating with excuses. I have taken to writing letters to family, this is both therapeutic and revives an old custom! I have bundles of old letters written to me from my mother whilst I was a child at boarding school so am going down memory lane. But, I listen with dread to the news at 4.30 and feel for all those stuck in tiny flats with no outside garden, for all those refugees living ten to a tent in foul conditions in camps the size of cities. And I fret constantly for my travelling young daughter caught on the other side of the world, thankfully, she couldn't have picked a better counter to have got stranded in, New Zealand. She tells me they are fine there, and the citizens in New Zealand are taking it all a lot more seriously than we are here. This gives me some comfort. I miss all my family, all apart in different places, but I realise that there are many people far worse off, and so I am thankful every day.
I hope that at the end of this, we all learn something, and that we do not just go back to how things were, let this be a warning to us. In 10 years time, it won't be Covid, it will be Climate Catastrophe. Let us learn please.

For the first time in many years I feel free of responsibilities. I am reading more, researching ancestors, studying online courses, using zoom and really reflecting on what I will do in the future, once this is all over. I won't be going overboard with the cleaning though.

No not enjoying it at all. Small place, no privacy, too big for three of us. Business affected also, just hope to move to a bigger place when we can. Must be lovely to be in lockdown in somewhere you love living,

I love the peacefulness and as others have said ... listening to nature’s world not man’s. I have time to appreciate the home we’ve worked all our lives for. My mother was evacuated at the start of WWII aged six and never saw her home in London again. They tell us this is the worst crisis since those times but our lives in this crisis are pure heaven compared to mum’s and So many hundreds like her and those millions who perished. So I’m going to do my very best to appreciate all that I have!

As a long time follower and occasional participant of Gransnet, I feel that I can safely say that we are all mindful of the risks to our wonderful NHS, the people out there who are keeping our country running and the less fortunate all around us.
Surely, though, we can count our blessings and say how lucky and appreciative we feel for having a good partner, a spacious home, a pleasant garden, a quiet area. I know how damned lucky I am that I can enjoy the peace and quiet of lockdown but in no way do I feel smug.
I am not an introvert, I miss my family and friends and being out and about. I would be very selfish to complain about not seeing them and being kept safe in view of my comfortable situation when millions are suffering.
I think it's good to have a thread where we can show our gratitude for what we have, show some positivity and some togetherness. I do apologise to any who think me smug, it is simply not true.
I feel deeply for those who are alone, feeling scared and lonely but it doesn't stop me being thankful for what I have.

Enjoying, not socialising, long walks or bike rides every day, the quiet, my garden, nature, time to enjoy my hobby of photography, having my adult son at home due to him having to be shielded.

Not enjoying, not being able to get a shopping slot, not seeing my gorgeous granddaughter and Daughter in Law. Hurting for my son who also cannot see them, they have his sister in law there at the moment, she is an ICU nurse.

Yes enjoying it now after the initial shock. I’m seeing more of my partner as he’s working at home. My village, usually a cut through for traffic, is lovely and quiet. No pressure to go out much means I can pursue my hobbies. I do miss my daughter and my GChildren but it’s nice to have a break from the hour long drive up there and back to see them. Also miss having coffee with my best friend but we talk on the phone. If I could get online Grocery shopping I wouldn’t go out at all!

Nannan2 you sound like a slave to your family! Can’t they fend for themselves? OK cook one meal a day, but the rest...
Saggi, you need to leave your husband. That’s my Margie Proops (if anyone remembers her) for one day.
I’m enjoying parts of this lockdown: not bothering about my appearance as I like to make an effort usually, tidying papers from years ago and reading. I started off quite well, sketching, exercising, phoning, but my lazy streak has come to the fore and today, nothing. I have always needed nothing days however. I feel for people stuck with others who irritate them. A cat doesn’t irritate ?. Since my husband died three years ago I have been busy getting out if the house come what may, so this is salutary. It’s harder for my completely extrovert friends, I’m a bit of both and have pondered going on a retreat in the past. It’s rather like being institutionalised isn’t it? Told what to do. And like being in hospital, what can we do but accept it? It’s shadowed by the worry for others though.

Unfortunately i think the thugs& antisocials will go wild!

Sadly you’re probably right, Nannan2. I know the police officers in my family are having a bit of a lull from it at the moment (though they’ve plenty of other things to worry about), but it’d be too much to hope for that it could last.

I’m enjoying the quiet walks but missing my family and friends.
And as has come up on other threads a lot depends on who you are sharing lockdown with. I usually spend a lot of time out of the house because things are stressful at home. I go to different activities meet friends and wander around the town or sit in cafes. Being trapped at home except for a walk is affecting my mental health badly. I know I am drinking too much and eating rubbish

I am loving every minute of it! I do have serious illnesses and compromised immune system, and am high risk. However, at last people are not expecting me to be out all day every day, and taking them here, there and everywhere.. It is doing wonders for my health.