I’m being made to feel stupid for sticking to the rules, anyone else?

What's the difference between you and your friends? Care, compassion, consideration. You are looking after yourself and those you care about. There will be another lock down because of people like them. How will they feel when their lives and ours are put on hold yet again. Will they be too stupid to realise they are responsible. Stick to your guns and tell them they are in the wrong.

Never feel bad about doing the right thing. Just remember their selfishness is the problem, not you.

I’ve noticed that the tactic of those who are breaking the rules and also those who are in ‘it’s just a flu’ denial, tend to suggest that those of us who are being very cautious are ‘cowardly’, we’re ‘frit’, we ought to ‘live life’, shouldn’t be ‘controlled’, we’re ‘being had’ and taken for fools.
I can understand your disquiet because no-one likes to be judged as a coward, as a frightened fool etc. However, if I were you I’d stand your ground, as I have, simply on the basis that you beg to differ. You’d kick yourself if you take a risk and end up with Covid.
When all this finally ends we’ll see who was right and wrong and at least, hopefully, you’ll still be around to know the conclusion!

Like most people on here we are following all the guidance and haven’t even been to a supermarket since the end of February, although I do go to the local butcher and the local farm shop. We haven’t had any friends or family in the house for months. The only person we’ve spoke to in real time for weeks is our neighbour over the fence from a huge distance apart! We want to live to see next Christmas and the grandchildren again. Ps. We do wash or clean everything which comes in the house. Ott maybe but we feel comfortable with it! ???

I think we are being careful enough. I have been out on walks with friends but we walk a good distance apart & take our own cars to the park. I always wear a mask in shops. We have had no-one into the house since the day before Christmas Eve which meant we could not see family over Christmas although younger son brought children to stand at the end of the drive to swop presents & chat.
Hopefully I will get the jab soon.
It all seems a bit surreal at the moment & I am sure I am not
the only woman to be fed up being stuck in with DH all the time!

I have to say this makes me really angry. It is people like your friends that are the stupid ones. It’s because of them and others like them that it is escalating again. Like op I’m mid 70’s live alone and have several serious health issues. I’ve obeyed the rules, not so much for me because my stage 4 cancer is terminal but for the people around me. Your friends are very selfish and unless the rest of us call them out on it things will continue to get worse. The vaccine can’t cure stupidity

Well no matter what your friends think just let it go over your head and know that your doing the right thing for yourself and for others. If only more were like you.

I too have one particular friend who thinks I am over reacting to the pandemic!! I have cancer, I know that if I catch COVID I won’t survive. Even when we were put into Tier 4 she messaged to ask if I wanted to go to her house for coffee. I told her I had had another missive from the government (it arrived by e mail the next day) and I am now shielding again.
I had stopped washing my shopping but have started again, I would rather spend a few minutes doing that than risk infection. If I forget my son reminds me.
We stayed at home for Christmas and New year. I ventured out at midnight and enjoyed the free firework displays, much better standard than most years!!

This thread definitely struck a chord with me. On Christmas Day I walked to one of my sons, as I had called a few days previously to say could we do gifts in the garden.
When I arrived I was wearing a mask and stood by the open patio door.
DIL mentioned how she knew people who were just hugging their GC and not bothering with masks!
They make it quite clear I'm being OTT.
I then came home feeling rather sad for the remainder of my Xmas day alone.

Believe it or not, more more and more people are abiding by the rules. Writing as someone whose family(14 of us) took a joint decision to wear masks from March onwards, both indoors in any public place and outdoors too, we were mocked quite mercilessly in the beginning. This has reduced greatly.

One word of warning though, some of those who choose to take exception to us now, seem far more agitated and intimidating, so much so that we have stopped offering questioners a mask (in a plastic bag) which we did originally.

Our local and only supermarket tried to sell single masks for a pound each, to anyone not having one or having forgotten theirs at the entrance to the store.

The older members of the family went along the queue outside the store and offered anyone who didn't have one a mask for free.

Very very sadly we have an all too good a reason for doing this as a family. One of us has gone much too early and can never be
replaced.

One Love One World Dooncaha

Real friends would not be like this. Stick to your guns. You are in the right

Grandy56 your neighbours are certainly not good friends of yours. Everyone should respect other's attitudes towards their own safety at this time, and if you want to keep yourself safe, and they don't, then they shouldn't be offended if you keep your distance. It sounds as though they are probably influencing others over this matter. Have you tried contacting the other people in your street explaining the reason you are keeping to the rules, but are looking forward very much to being amongst everyone again when this pandemic is over. If they don't respond kindly then they aren't the nice people you thought they were and are better off without them. I think you have behaved very sensibly.

I do have one friend who goes completely over the top, she fears for her life but is in town most days, another friend doesn't believe its anything to worry about, I just believe another lung infection would be curtains for me! When I do venture out it scares me the number of people who don't appreciate space.

TenaciouB
Find new friends.Just remember, He who laughs first laughs last.

AJKW Long Covid is not something I would call surviving. And there have been many stories of 'young fit healthy' people who have died or now suffering with Long Covid.

What's the point of having wonderful world economy if there's no one left?

Hang in there. Do what you think is right for you. If it's any comfort I have been following safety measures since March before the current safety measures. I would go to the supermarket with my marigold gloves on and not giving a toss what others thought. As long as the virus exists, it's a threat, end of. So good for you. It also maybe that because you are doing the sensible thing this is challenging for others who know what they SHOULD be doing.

I will try to keep this brief but I have been so very hurt by a similar situation that has been going on since May and would really welcome your feed back.
I live in a very sociable road and have always got together sociably with many couples of a similar age in the street .
Just before VE Day my next door neighbour and friend of 30 years sent an email to everyone for a garden party .
We were at the time still in lock down. I rang her up to express my concern privately .
She was horrified and cross with me saying she meant everyone should celebrate in their own gardens . However on the day she put chairs bunting etc out and everyone congregated on her front lawn spilling out onto the street.
We didn’t attend but raised a glass to them all from our front door .
A little later in the summer, when we were allowed to meet in our gardens my DH and I invited a couple round who had been in strict lock down since March . They were very nervous about coming .
My house shares a footpath with the neighbour to our back gardens and all day leading up to my friends arrival , it had been busy with children, grandchildren and neighbours visiting my neighbour . I asked my neighbour if they could possibly not use the path for five minutes while my friends arrived and used it to enter our back garden . She agreed and then dead on the agreed time , they used the path to wheel a lawnmower along it for no apparent reason.
I again spoke to her privately about this but she was angry and emailed me that night saying that she had emailed everyone the road and that they were all shocked with my behaviour .
Since that day we have had very little contact from anyone .
On New Year’s Day ( we are tier 4 ) 20 neighbours had a gathering in the road to celebrate . We of course were not invited ( not that we would have gone but it would have been so nice to be included. These people were all once our friends )
I know this is late in the thread but please reply to me . I am so down .

I'm in a low case area too but the stupidity of people is unbelievable. The ones who escaped from Tier 4 in London to come here, the Tier 4s coming into Tier 3 to shop, the man with Covid symptoms who went into the local chemists, the second in a week, and also here is the poor girl struggling with a young family and with Long Covid, which will affect her for the rest of her life. Meanwhile we stay isolated and patiently wait as we have since March.

Who needs enemies when you have friends like that.
You are totaly doing the right thing

Do what is right for yourself, like me I’m sure you want to live to see this thing over. We’re staying in because if you carry on as normal it will never be over.

Nope, I think the people breaking the rules are the stupid and selfish ones.

I know how you feel too makes me so angry when my relatives come on FaceTime and say so casually, “oh yes we had our daughter and husband round for Sunday dinner” or yes they came round New Year’s Eve too and spent the evening with us and then went home or maybe they didn’t. I was shocked and said households are banned from mixing in tier 4 , don’t you watch the news, and the answer was, oh well! , we just break the rules. I was livid because Ihavent seen my grandchildren physically since August. What makes them think they are above the law. They are older than us too and clinically vulnerable. They just don’t get it!! Ok wish the government would make a short film of people suffering on COVID wards and put it out on tv that would ram it home to people just how horrid this virus is!!!!

NotTooOld. - What an articulate reply!

Keep strong and don't let others deflect you. I have no intention of falling at the last fence. Having come this far, missed so much, and with faith in the vaccine, I would not be influenced by those who have been lucky enough to avoid catching Covid in spite of behaving stupidly. A couple on the news a few weeks back had carried on regardlessly; she is now dead and he is a lot wiser and sadder.

Could we have just one day without Covid being the main topic of conversation.?