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Have you forgotten what pre-COVID life is like?

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MRBXXXFVVS1

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 5, 2019
Messages
1,450
After strictly isolating for a year, I feel like I've almost forgotten what pre-COVID life is like and who I am as a person. Before COVID, I was never at home and always traveling, exploring new places/things, trying new restaurants, spending time with family, friends, and colleagues. In stark contrast, I haven't left the house and haven't interacted with any of my family or friends in a year. Pre-COVID life seems so distant. I am very grateful and I've learned I am resilient and have incredible self-discipline, but I also feel like I'm just waiting and living in a void...waiting for my turn for the vaccine and COVID cases to go down... Does anyone feel like this too? Have you forgotten what pre-COVID life is like?
 
Certainly feels that way some days!!
 
We would’ve been on 6 trips in the time we’ve been in lockdown, had friends round to dinner on a regular basis, been out for meals, days out etc., so yes, it does feel like we’ve forgotten what our life was like before.

We couldn’t go to our son’s wedding, we haven’t seen him and our DIL since December 2019, and won’t be able to see them again until at least June, we’d have visited at least 3 times last year and spent Christmas with them.

We went to the supermarket last week for the first time in months, I’m really looking forward to being fully vaccinated and for lockdown to end, so we can get back to some kind of normality.
 
I am enjoying the isolation very much. No more crowded places, less noise, no need to meet a lot of people.

I have definitely not forgotten what it was like because I had to do so many things out of my comfort zone in order to meet societal expectations.
 
Yes, I’ve forgotten. Sometimes, I think staying in the house like a hermit will be the rest of my life. Once this is all done, I think I will slowly re-enter society.

I might have to learn to drive again..LOL.
 
HI:

No. I work in a (public) hospital. And I don't miss people not sanitizing their hands and not keeping their sneezes and cough to themselves.

cheers--Sharon
 
I have forgotten. I forgot what it was like to go into the office, shops, parties.

I have seen a handful of friends who are my "quaranTEAM" and we only see one another to minimize risk.

I couldn't go to my dad when he nearly died out of fear of getting him sick. Thankfully he pulled through, but I haven't seen him since I got married in September.

Oh yeah...I got married! Obviously wedding plans were turned upside down.

It will be incredibly hard to readjust. I find myself very overwhelmed at grocery stores and around even small crowds of people. I nearly had a panic attack when we indulged and picked up pizza in a busy part of town. There were maybe 10-12 people milling about right in front of the restaurant...and it totally freaked me out and my anger flared because they were clustered. I have never had this level of anxiety around people, but dare I say...I may have mild agoraphobia at this point. Coming from a girl who lived in the heart of Manhattan at one point!
 
I remember what it was like but I much prefer a quieter world. The first few months of lockdown were frightening but I also remember how clean the air was and how many birds came out to sing in the morning. I loved that part.

For myself, I'm going to try to hold on to a little bit of that serenity.
 
I think I’ve forgotten what it’s like to not wear a mask shopping for groceries etc.

I won’t miss not wearing one though when it’s time but it will feel strange at first. And perhaps a bit scary.
 
I miss eating out, drinking at pubs and bars, going to cinema and theatre, practicing and performing in a choir, having face to face lesson with a music teacher, having face to face meetings, volunteering in a charity shop, organising and hosting events, not being able to travel and go camping etc. etc...

In short, the social side of life has been significantly impacted by Covid-19.

I miss socialising face to face with certain people, and be out and about as and when I feel like it.

I did not go out socialising every evening before Covid-19, usually had at least 2 or 3 alcohol-free days during the week on Tuesdays to Thursdays when I stayed at home.

I don't like to drink on my own at home, and only have a glass of wine or a beer with the meals at weekends. I usually go out to eat at least once a week. Therefore, I am spending less on food and drink during lockdown for certain!

However, work wise it has been pretty much business as usual as I have been working from home on a part time basis since September 2019, and have continued to work throughout the pandemic.

The opportunities to take on more work no doubt have been reduced due to travel restrictions. However, baseline number of hours has remained steady.

I am not certain if life will get back to pre-Covid days without consequences, and shall look forward to embracing the new normal, whatever that may be!

It is certainly a wake up call and it can happen again!

DK :))
 
I miss so much of our pre Covid life, but I can imagine life being normal again.
I miss my students so much. I don’t enjoy teaching remotely and cannot wait to have my little friends back in person full force.
I am sad at those who are limited with hospital and nursing care family visits; going through that presently and it’s very difficult.
I do not miss socializing at all as it was never really a huge part of our lives.
I do long to shed the mask, but will wait until it is safe of course.
 
I kind of forget. At times I try to remember what I did all the time and I can't always think of what seemed to keep me so busy. Not having to commute in Boston traffic to work everyday is saving me a ton of time, but I just seem to work those saved hours so they aren't really "my time". The winter has been harder for me than last summer when I could enjoy sitting outside, photographing the birds that have probably been here all along, but I was never home in the day to see them. I certainly miss travelling which was a huge part of my life and I'm not sure when I'll be ready to climb back on a plane to fly for 8 or 9 hours to get to a new place. So many cancelled trips. And a lot of my time pre-Covid was taken up in planning those trips. Now I just seem to clean the house more. I think my housekeeper will be the first person I allow back into my house.
 
Australian here

It's a little strange for me because I'm living pretty much a normal life (heading out to a buffet right now) but then I'll remember that I'm actually locked in the country (I don't mind at all) and it's a reminder that no, life isn't absolutely normal.

They let parents back on school grounds again. Funny because I rang the office to check if I could come in during school pick up and the office ladies were urging me to pop in and to say hi. They missed seeing parents!!! Stuff like that makes you remember that wow, yeah, you're living through a pandemic!

We've got it very very very good here though so no complaints. It's as normal as you can get, given the state of the world.
 
I have forgotten what it was like to be alone. Seriously, these kids have been home for an entire year. Love them to death but it is tough going from lots of alone time to someone always being around.
 
Not really. I am normally an introvert so other than going to work and the occasional restaurant with my husband, I rarely went out. My husband did almost all the grocery store shopping before and still does. I did a lot of online shopping precovid and still do. I always preferred to purchase clothes online anyway bc usually they come packaged from the warehouse and no one has tried them on. At the stores you don’t know who tried on stuff, etc.
I’ve never been crazy about going on vacation either. Our attitude has always been If we travel- great, if not, there’s always next year. Trips always make me anxious and stressed out anyway.
I guess I’m more of a homebody than I thought. I am perfectly fine staying at home, relaxing and socially distancing myself with my family. I kind of feel like my life hasn’t been affected too much in terms of the way we used to do things and the way we do them now.

My kids of course have been way more affected than me with school and social interaction. I feel bad for them bc we moved here at the end of February 2020 and in March 2020 everything shut down.
They have not met anyone or made friends in our neighborhood or at school (they are doing virtual).
 
Nope, nothing had changed for me in the past 12 months. I still see my grandkids at least 5X per week. I don't live my life in fear. According Fauci we should stay home until the US reach 10K cases per month. IOW, another 6 months...:rolleyes:
 
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kayla17 said:
My kids of course have been way more affected than me with school and social interaction. I feel bad for them bc we moved here at the end of February 2020 and in March 2020 everything shut down.
They have not met anyone or made friends in our neighborhood or at school (they are doing virtual).
Click to expand...
That's child abuse!
 
I miss my family. I guess I cant remember precovid life because I cant remember really what it felt like to see them pretty frequently. My daughter doesnt remmeber either. And my husband and I both lost relatives over the last year without getting to see them or go to their funerals. It feels like the more distant past when in reality the losses are recent. It was not a nice way to lose someone -- sounds strange but I can now say there are happy and sad ways to say goodbye.

Other than that we live in a bubble where life is almost normal and there is almost no covid. People go out, shop and dine out etc. The bubble is very small though. We used to travel 10+ times a year, and even a tiny trip was international as this country is only ~40 km by 60 km. It feels strange not to be able to leave. Its like we have done the entire tripadvisor activities list for the country since covid started (except a few things which werent suitable for our daughter) and are starting to double up and do things again, its a bit sureal.
 
There are some things about Covid 19 life that I am enjoying.

Greg working from home the entire year has been very sweet.
Not having to attend parties also has been a bright spot to be honest.

I do miss one on one (or two on two to be specific) interaction with some friends. I miss small gatherings with our friends. But I don't miss the parties we attended a few times a year.

All in all it has been a mixed bag to be sure. I miss seeing my family and dear friends. But I love having my husband home all the time. And walking with him almost daily and just spending quality and quantity time together. It is a bright spot amidst the pandemic bringing us joy.
 
I think I led a kind of boring life pre COVID because things don’t feel all that different! I go to work (hospital) and look after the house, we always had online grocery deliveries anyway. I have missed going on holiday, although I seem quite happy to be near home too.
 
My kids went back to school face to face in January. I couldn't keep them home any longer as it was riskier to their mental health than it was for COVID exposure. I wish I had sent them back sooner. All 3 of them are much better since going back to school.

My husband is still WFH but has gone in to the office a few times. He expects to begin working at the office a few days a week in the next few months.

I will not miss wearing a mask. I will not miss having to weigh risks of exposure. I will not miss nagging my kids about safety. When things return to normal, however, I totally dread traffic. I have really noticed that traffic isn't nearly as bad during COVID. So other than traffic, I am soooo over this s@#$!
 
So much of my pre-covid life isn't any different than my life is now....lol

I do miss hanging out with my friends on a weekly basis. We've not had a get together since it all started. Now that I'm fully vaccinated, and, many of them are as well, we will consider having some time to go out...cautiously because we're all old now!

But I can't say I miss people being nasty and not covering mouths when they cough, not washing their hands, and, never wiping down things, in particular at the gym.

I won't miss wearing a mask anytime I leave my house/car.
 
This year has gone by so fast in many ways. Last March we were in Sanibel when all this began and had to figure out how to get my 90 yo Mom safely home with no masks or hand sanitizer available! There have been many good things this past year to be thankful for. Our focus at home allowed us to get many long standing projects done and we love the results. We have had my Mom and sister living with us off and on for much of the year as we live in a less Covid intense area than they do. Challenging many days but worth keeping everyone safe.
We have so missed our visits with our children and have only seen our son twice with masks and social distance. We have not been able to see our oldest who lives cross country. I just want to give them a hug! We have had to cancel our traveling plans which we love but know the end is coming and our planning our next adventures.
My elderly Aunt died of Covid with no ability to see her or attend her funeral. So very hard for my Mom as her last living relative in her generation. So very sad for so many who have lost loved ones.
To my DH’s delight I have reluctantly taken up camping and have been able to do that a few times with dear friends and many precautions.
So looking forward to getting back out, dining in, visiting family and our travels. Anxiously waiting for my turn for the vaccine to have to worry a little less.
 
we were in South Carolina for 4 days and I know the state does not have face mask mandates, however the city we were staying does have it, it felt weird being around people without facemasks....we wore ours the whole time we went out and only actually ate in 2 restaurants (uber eats to the rescue lol) now I worry till I know we are ok...but yeah it will take awhile to get use to life as it was...that is IF we ever get back to that...I think our view of things will be permanently changed
 
I remember but there's not that much I miss. Agree with @House Cat on the driving thing though - driving now feels weird.
 
It does seems like a lifetime ago...

I've admittedly lost all sense of time and time management...it will be an adjustment having to go back to being certain places at a certain time.

As an extreme extrovert, the first few months were extremely difficult. I get my energy from being around people, so it felt like I was running on a half charged battery. I loved going to and working in the city, going to concerts and the theater, craft fairs and gem shows, and going out to eat with friends. I also miss being able to fly to visit family and friends. (Admittedly, although I now have to drive, rather than fly, to see me mom, I don't mind the drive as much because of the lack of traffic.) I've adjusted so the "new normal" now feels perfectly normal but I can't say I am loving life like I did.

For me, the only upside of the past year is I am getting a full nights sleep every night -and- saving a lot of money (despite shelling out more for having things delivered). Oh, and my dog does love the extra walk he gets during the day with me being home.

Not sure if I miss having to decide what to wear each day but I do miss wearing my jewelry:lol:

With the rollout of vaccines, I do think a lot about what the "next normal" will be like and how it will be different than life before Covid.

What will return to office look like...,not to mention - so many of us at work are now in new roles/teams and many are gone due to reorgs. Many of the places around my office and where I would frequent with friends on weekends are closed. Some of my loved ones have fallen ill and we won't be able to do the things we did before.

So I suspect post-covid won't be going back to the way things were but I will be happy to have the freedom to get back to doing things I enjoyed most.
 
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I would have had a job by now if covid hadn't happen
Gary would not have got lost in the systen and would have had his eyes fixed by now - the main reason we are stuck at home

i like people are washing their hands properly
Im not sure i miss tourists but we all miss the economic activity that radiates out around them

Personally i have not enjoyed the kids next door being home more often
They are completly out of control - i feel sorry for their teachers

all of NZ is now in level 1 and we can take public transport without masks
but like @mellowyellowgirl said about life over the ditch, we are kind of locked in
but i think we'd be a fool to go anywhere else although our vacine schedule is pitiful and it'll be the end of the year before we are all done
Because this brave new world that we will eventually all go back into isn't safe until we are all safe
 
My DD #1 thinks that she contacted the virus in 2019 because she was very sick during Christmas.
 
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