Wednesday 23 March 2022

Two years since the first lockdown.

Can you believe this time 2 years ago Boris Johnson ordered us all to stay at home because of Coronavirus? It seems like such a long time ago but at the same time it feels like no time has passed at all. My Word of the Week a few days before the big announcement was Worry and there was a lot of that but we stayed home and we actually enjoyed the first lockdown mostly. Life seemed so much easier back then. There was of course the worry of catching the virus but we were staying home and having barely any contact with anyone.

Lego house

This time 2 years ago we didn't know anyone who had caught the virus or who had died from it. Myself and my family are lucky that we went so long without the sadness of worrying about people we knew who were ill, we just saw the news stories.

During that first lockdown we got to spend lots of time together as a family, the weather was great and even the home schooling was fun. It was relaxed and Ellie got to pick and choose what she learned. The school wasn't really prepared for the lockdown so there were no structured lessons through Zoom or much work to do, that came in the 2nd or 3rd lockdown, I can't actually remember, they all seem to have blurred into one.

Playing in the garden and plant pots
Gardening

We spent so much time outside in the garden and I feel so lucky that we had that extra space. The girls played together and actually got along and we finally got around to sorting the garden. Digging the flower beds up and planting lots of different things, painting the garage and doing a few other jobs. We then moved on to decorating the house which needed doing. That lockdowns gave us that chance to get stuff done.

Shopping was interesting but stressful. It was the closest we came to people for weeks, those who worked in shops. I couldn't get an online delivery for at least a month and to be honest I didn't really try, there were people who needed the online deliveries more than us. We got through without running out of loo rolls and pasta. I got my first delivery during the lockdown at the end of April and I couldn't have been happier.

The girls spent time writing letters and cards to my great aunt who was home by herself and they really enjoyed doing them and she loved receiving them. I spoke to her a lot during the first lockdown. She was so lonely but carried on.

Making cards

I'm not going to lie and say it was all fun. Becky missed her girlfriend terribly and they did try to push their luck just as the first lockdown started by trying to meet up to go for a walk but that obviously didn't happen. Ellie had a bit of a panic in the April when she didn't want to leave the house at all to post a card, we decided then it was time to go for daily walks just to get out of the house.


Life has changed so much since that first lockdown. In some parts for the better. We appreciate loved one's and the NHS more, I shop locally and we have got so much done around the house. We have all been vaccinated, even Ellie and all of my family apart from Ellie has had their boosters. My dad and his partner caught Covid in November 2020 but so far me, Stu and the girls have managed to avoid it. I don't know how with there being so many cases at the school over the past couple of years and now with Becky working at a care home I feel that we have been really, really lucky.

Sometimes I think life was better in the lockdowns. There was less pressure on us with work, school and college but we have to move on. I am still very wary of going on public transport and to shops but I still wear a mask to try and stay safe. Covid hasn't gone away, like everyone keeps saying we just have to learn to live with it

4 comments :

  1. This morning as I contemplated my calendar for the next couple of weeks I was having fond memories of lockdown when everything was cancelled! But it was such an anxious time and I did struggle, I find it easy now to forget how different things were when we didn't know much about the virus and no one was vaccinated. Cases are still really high here, I don't know how I've managed to escape it so far.

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  2. It's surreal isn't it? I can't believe two years have passed. It was so scary not knowing what we were facing at the start of lockdown. But I do agree, it was kind of nice to be able to take a slower pace and enjoy more family time. I was quite happy to stay at home and stay safe.
    I still wear a mask now when out and about. I think I always will. x

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  3. Our life didn't really change at all during lockdowns; my husband was an essential worker so kept right on working his usual schedule. I was homeschooling all 3 boys at that time so we just kept right on going. We still saw immediate family members and spent time outdoors with friends where we could all spread out since our country allowed all of that. I think most people we know have had Covid at this point but I only know 1 that was hospitalized and none that died (thankfully!!).. in fact my husband had it and somehow the rest of manage to avoid it somehow. It does seem crazy that that was 2 years ago already!

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  4. Madness that it's still going on 2 years later isn't it. We were similar - it wasn't until well into summer when I knew anyone directly who'd had it. Thankfully so far, only one set of cousins/aunt/uncle has had it - some twice, and N out of us. We're still wearing masks too although very few others are around here. We're going out more, but still have weekends free now N's not playing tennis matches, and we're still not travelling to meet friends. Easter will be our first time away, so after that we'll be trying to gradually start organising more things at weekends. Although with fuel prices sky high, and potentially could end up being rationed, I'm not sure howe much we'll end up doing. (the OH now thinks everyone should just stay at home instead of going out and about, but he never changed his life really during the last 2 years. He never really went anywhere other than occasional meal at the pub, and then farm suppliers tend to come to him. I feel a bit like life's been on hold and we've missed 2 years of doing things and visiting places - and now 2 years later, N isn't interested in all that, so we're at a bit of stalemate, and I've lost my visiting buddy.

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