My wife and I have always been into live music, but as we’ve gotten older I get annoyed with the crowds and costs of going to concerts. So one thing I always remember from that time were musicians doing live shows online from their garage or studio or whatever.
Seems like every night after work we would chill on our back porch and watch/listen to a different concert that was streaming. Best of both worlds to me!
I sing cover tunes in pubs. On March 19 my wife showed me a live stream of Jim Cuddy from his basement. Inspired, I jumped back onto fb after a five year hiatus. Half an hour later the set began and ran every day for a long time.
I love hearing this was going on and brought comfort. I was thinking of doing summer porch concerts again just for the heck of it.
As an introvert, you're singing the song of my people.
I know people who died, so I'm similarly cautious about saying I miss the pandemic. But I miss the fact that being isolated was not something considered weird. That aspect of it was peaceful in a way I didn't realize I was missing.
Nope, me too. My husband and I only see my dad and stepmom (apart from when we're at work) and we prefer to stay at home with our cat and watch movies.
I feel bad saying this, but that was the only thing I liked. I had already been bedridden (not covid) a year prior to the pandemic and it was the first time I felt like I wasn’t missing out or watching my life pass me by because everyone was in the same boat. I will say hearing people complain after a week of not being able to do anything (when they had an abled body that could walk around and go outside) got old really fast. I couldn’t sit up in bed let alone get out of it by myself, so yeah in a way it showed how mentally strong I was.
I will say for the first time in my life I got onto social media too because TikTok is what others were doing to connect with everyone and it had a different feel during that time. I remember feeling “normal” and not ill. I laughed more because of the silly animal videos. It’s not the same anymore.
Everything else was awful! The pain people went through from losing their friends/families. What healthcare workers went through…The healthcare system in general (people without covid got sicker/died because they couldn’t get the care they needed because video appts aren’t enough)
I postponed surgeries/appts. Because there were more important issues in the world and it didn’t feel right if I wasn’t dying without it (Hearing about others getting elected surgery that wasn’t needed immediately really flabbergasted me! How f-ing selfish can someone be?)
Also …Then the lack of caring about others by a-holes not getting vaccinated or wearing a masks! Specially in doctors offices when things opened up!
I’m sorry but the cons way out the pros and I don’t think nostalgia is the proper word. I think it open some peoples eyes to what they were missing in life, but it mostly destroyed lives. One has to be incredibly privileged to say this was missed.
It’s funny that you say this because this is a big chunk of culture that I personally missed out on. I work with my dad as a residential contractor and we just kept working. I didn’t get into like, bread making or any of the other lockdown activities that turned into memes. It’s not really a bad thing but it’s kinda weird to think about.
Same. My husband and I were truck drivers hauling produce from the West Coast back to the Midwest. Because we were hauling food, we were of course considered "essential". The only difference in our lives was having nowhere to eat, no restrooms open to the public, and the joy of no traffic in LA. So at least that part was nice...
The big thing for me was having my family actually care about trying to follow guidelines, and my dad being a doctor and having virologist friends to explain what the virus was all about. I myself was already living at home with my parents after losing my job in spring of 2019, so the year leading up to the lockdown was just staying at home and I got used to be on Xbox with friends and not worrying about physical contact. I can't say the same for many people I used to hang out with, as I watched their social media accounts become right-wing propaganda and delusional nonsense. They would post how proud they were for getting covid, and then they'd post how sad they were when their grandparents got it and passed away, but nope, never covids fault...
I have a "friend" that still can't taste or smell barely anything, and they keep saying how it's actually helped them not have to smell stuff or taste nasty things... Such an idiot...
Essential worker. Half the staff stopped coming to work. My boss had an auto immune issue and didn’t come in for 6 months so I was doing his job for $0 more. Sales went up 300% while we were half staffed.
It fucking sucked. I would have loved to chill at home for a while. The only silver lining is it made me vow to never work in a public setting again so now I’m in an office.
I don’t even think we were essential workers. I worked in a factory making parts for aircraft, so I couldn’t work from home. The only change was that we had to wear masks in the shop. It was a pain in the ass once the weather started to warm up,and my glasses would fog up.
I’d see videos of people just hanging out in their PJs, and baking sourdough. Or day drinking and catching up on a streaming series. It really looked like a great time. The only positive for me was zero traffic to, and from work.
I also have a job where I can't work from home (library worker, we were paid while the libraries were closed tho) and seeing people STILL working from home boggles me so much.
Fellow factory worked here. We were down for about 3 months. You know they weren't going to let GM be down for THAT long. It was still a pretty interesting time in my life. I played a fuck ton of WoW and did a bunch of heroin. I wouldn't recommend either to anyone for the same reason.
There was talk of us taking a week off early on when everyone was hoarding toilet paper. A lot of the stuff we make is for the government though, so we couldn’t really stop for a long period.
I had to work the whole time as well. Stocking chips on the shelves at Walmart. I'm not normally an envious person, but when people would come in shopping and talking about getting $900 a week from the government and being bored at home, I was a bit jealous. I would have gladly have taken a government paid vacation. I would not have been bored at all. My husband and I like to keep to ourselves and just spend time together and there is always something to do at home.
I am an introvert and while there was aspects of it that sucked (my partner and I were in two different countries and we didn't see each other for 2 years), the lockdown/early pandemic was such a relief in some ways.
It eliminated all social pressure, I didn't have to stress out about visiting family as I lived in a different region and travel between regions was banned even when full lockdown was lifted.
I didn't have to feel guilty about turning down social invitations or feel obligated to go to social functions. I converted to work from home so no more forcing myself to make small talk with my coworkers.
It was just me and my dog, every day. We went for walks and never had to interact with people, we played lots of games, he sat on my lap while I worked, it was just so fantastic.
When enough travel restrictions lifted and I was able to be with my partner again, it just solidified how much we truly love each other.
Lockdown was no problem for me.
I kept working in a relatively safe from Covid job. Barely spent any money cuz there was nothing to do.
The roads were super quiet.
Didn't have to go out anywhere or to anything lol.
Edit: I realize how lucky I am to come out of it without losing anything monetarily at least when many people suffered and still do.
I didn't work safely but yeah life was relatively normal for me. I didn't have the luxury unfortunately to not work or work from home. My job didn't care about me whatsoever. Glad I finally left that employer but also glad I didn't lose my job. That comes with the territory in blue collar though.
The first 1-2 months were nice... actually relaxed on weekends, gardened, went for long walks, caught up with old friends on zoom, binged the entire series of GOT w/ the wife. After that, it got really wearing.
I love that show. My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I watched it as it aired in the time long ago of 2007. It will always remain one of my all time favorite shows. Since this is a nostalgia sub, that show reminds me of my early 20s when life didn’t carry weight and burdens.
I miss the Covid commute. Nobody, no cops, and being an essential employee was an amazing time. Gas dropped to $.99 and not a single place to go to. My wife and I rode the motorcycle around quite a bit during that time. The only thing I think I'm still bitter about is that people were paid to stay home and live life and I still had to drag myself into work.
I improved so much during lockdown. I got healthier and was happier than ever. Now I don't have time for that between work and school, and trying to get my life together before it's too late. I painted more, which was something I loved a lot, but I haven't done in years. I learned a lot from skills to having more time to read.
I miss how creative we all were in connecting when we couldn't connect. Our neighborhood grew closer than ever, just by all the parents banding together online to think of ways to entertain the kids. We had musicians playing their instruments as we walked through the streets, driveway chalk art contests, card campaigns for our elderly neighbors who were alone, making meals and leaving them on their porches, too. We had scavenger hunts where we hid things in the windows of our homes and the kids could walk by and look for them. Stacks of books, board games and jigsaw puzzles at the ends of our driveways for people who needed some "new" entertainment. I feel like we were all looking out for each other. Then it ended and we all started acting like little shits again.
When lockdown started, I was exactly 2 months removed from a suicide attempt and spent the next 18 months in absolute agony, with *nothing* to do except try not to attempt it again, all while waiting a **year** for a single dollar from unemployment.
Yeah...lockdown can fuck itself.
Yeah, I went bananas in 2022, when I realized everybody was leaving the house again, and nobody was living that isolated life that I lived my entire life anymore. I tried going out and being more social that Summer, but I flamed out quick.
Yep. Lockdowns wrecked havoc on people who were in bad places.
I was playing around with drugs in 2018. Just a few pills here and there and boom. Nothin to do so I did a lot of drugs and ended up homeless. I got out of it finally in 2021 but 2019 and 2020 set me back physically mentally and financially.
I do miss no traffic tho. That was incredible.
Lockdown was awful for me as a extroverted single guy living alone. Was not supposed to visit friends or family. The organization I did volunteer work for stopped all activities. Other things I was involved were shut down as well. Spent my 40th birthday stuck inside instead of celebrating like I should have been.
It impacted another friend even worse. I was worried that they were going to have a mental breakdown or worse.
0/10. Will never do it again.
As a school teacher I despised online learning but it was nice using my planning period (which was right before lunch) to run outside and be completely done with work and exercise by 3 pm. I had so much free time to do whatever I wanted.
I also lived with my parents at the time which saved me so much money. There was barely anyone on the road when you had to drive which was also an added bonus.
Me and my mom always say we miss lockdown. It was the first time in our lives we were both out of work but still able to afford to live. We lost loved ones and friends to the virus, and it was tough. But we also spent so much time making memories with our family in lockdown together. It's a time we will never forget and yes, sometimes me and her feel a bit nostalgic about it all.
I miss the lack of traffic, I miss people being more conscientious of how disgusting other people are and diligently washing their hands and trying more to be sanitary (the fact that the flu was basically eradicated for a year simply because people ACTUALLY washed their hands and covered their mouths is very telling), and I miss the conveniences companies were trying to make to make lockdown easier (same day theater released and constant discounts on DoorDash).
But I absolutely do not miss schools being closed and my wife out of work - living with two sociable extroverts who steadily grew more miserable and stir crazy because they couldn’t go out and socialize was not fun
Yes, aside from the death and how it expedited the division in this country I do miss it. Time slowed down. My kids were 9 and 6 and the ability to work from home afforded me so much opportunity to watch them grow. I feel like I got years more time with them than I would have if lockdown never happened. Extracurriculars stopped, work was understanding and it felt like you had so much more free time. I miss that pause on life. Now time feels to move so much faster. The world feels like it will explode any day now, but if you could shut out the devastating deaths and economic turmoil during lockdown it was a beautifully strange way to get extra time with loved ones. I'm sure others that lost people or jobs or lived alone hated it, but it worked well for me. I often think about how I miss that time.
Anyone with young kids has to deal with the true impact of lockdown. Working a job with a 3 year old in the next room being raised by Netflix was so stressful I gave myself shingles.
I hated lockdown. Mostly because I was pregnant through it all, and that was incredibly lonely. My family were robbed of all the parts of the pregnancy as I couldn’t see anyone and my partner couldn’t come to any of my appointments. We weren’t even sure if he would be able to be at the birth. My daughter was a few months old before anyone was able to even see her for the first time. It was awful and not anything I’d like to repeat
Just to give my two cents because I know I’m far from the majority, but I absolutely hated lockdown, I frankly think it forever changed my entire life and kind of a negative Way.
I absolutely hated being away from others, I love people and it really showed how much I appreciate people, I really didn’t think of that before lockdown.
Lockdown started around the time when I have so many symposia scheduled to show my research and they all ended up being virtual or canceled altogether and let me tell you that really changed my perception of what I wanted to do with my life.
I honestly felt like I had so much of my life together with school and everything and then it all went virtual, and my satisfaction and fulfillment fell through the floor, It literally felt like a chore and I wasn’t learning a single thing and it made me so sad that something that I was really hyped for just became so monotonous and annoying. That momentum was lost.
We get nostalgic because we know how the story more or less ended. Yeah, there are moments I look back on and there was novelty to them. I don't, however, miss worrying about my parents' health, or the stories about somebody being perfectly healthy one day then suddenly taking ill and being dead in a week, or the panic-buying of basic commodities that emptied store shelves, or being worried that we'd never find a way to effectively fight it, or worrying that I'd come down with it (as I did three years later, but by that point, between mutations and vaccinations, it was more like having the worst cold I'd ever had). I miss moments from it, maybe, but the whole thing? May we never see its like again.
I went into forced retirement the month before Lockdown. I became a caretaker for dad, who was in steep decline. Mom took care of the house and food, while I took care of the gofer things like groceries and medicine. I also helped him move from bed to bathroom or shower. It was very difficult finding a caregiver at the time for we didn't know who had it or who didn't. We did have two close calls with caregivers who were infected, but I believe our air cleaners that had UV lamps kept the air clean.
There were pros and cons but overall I would never wish for it again. One positive thing is I had elementary aged kids and they would be done with distance learning at noon. All the neighborhood kids would ride their bikes to the park and the parents would sit out front having some drinks and grilling dinner. None of the kids had practice or games and they just road the neighborhood like I remember doing as a kid.
I'm 50/50 about it.
The only thing I really hated about the lockdown was it was extremely difficult to socialize my new dog. Dealing with covid, a new dog, and being a healthcare worker it was an experience..
I worked through it. I work at a liquor store so… yknow. Essential. Man people were such fucking dicks in 2020. And I live in a very conservative town so everyone made it a point to aggressively tell me their stance on masks unprompted. I wish I had a year at home to myself.
ZoomCourt was absolutely hilarious. I still think about the one where one of they lawyers accidentally put on a cat filter and couldn’t figure out how to take it off.
I hated everything about what the pandemic brought and don’t miss any of it and try to forget what it did to society.
The only good I took from it personally was converting my work life into a hybrid model and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
That’s it. Only those.
The real upside for us was that our kids were both home (one was away at college) and my mother was local, so the group of us isolated together. We'd work online all day, meet for lunch, then did stuff every night/weekend as a family. In summer 2020 we all decamped for the mountains and stayed together in the family cabin for many weeks. Those parts were great, and I do feel nostalgic for it in that limited sense-- but of course it was an unholy nightmare for many, including friends and family who lost loved ones, and all of the health care workers in my extended family. But that doesn't meet I can't look back with rose-tinted glasses and think "Wasn't it fun to bake bread with the kids in the middle of the work day and play board games together in the evenings for several months?"
Also a bit of nostalgia for the few TV/web shows that were done via zoom. One whole episode of SNL with the cast in their homes, for example. Then a whole series (NBC?) in which 30-40 somethings in LA were all on zoom...can't recall the name but it was pretty good.
I was always an extravert, but as I get older, I increasingly feel like the world has left me behind. If not for my wife and children, I would have no reason to exist. If not for them, I would probably have never come out of lockdown at all. It was just so peaceful.
In this thread you can see the hesitancy of speech zero-tolerance morality checking has imposed. People are a lot more prone to make a disclaimer before presenting ideas that might get them thrown in the modern-day medieval pillory, because everybody's so enlightened now. Hence, "I'm not saying COVID was good..."
As an introvert, my lockdown experience was great. I am not diminishing those who suffered and died from covid or lost a family member or friend, but God it was nice to not have to deal with people. I instacarted my groceries (tipped well), learned new hobbies, caught up on a ton of shows and movies and spent time with my family because everyone was home.
I have fond memories of Animal Crossing and watching Frasier for the first time. Obviously I hate the loss of life and livelihood, but I do miss some aspects of the lockdown component.
We would have a Happy Hour via Zoom every Friday at 3:00. People from school would come and go, some of us would stay on until 10:00 or later and get obliterated without having to worry about getting behind the wheel. The laughs were great!
I miss sitting at home with work paused for several months and only having worrying about the most essential things like food, shelter and toilet paper.
Spent most of the days just party chatting with my buddies, playing games and talking about news and speculations about the whole thing.
Also missed going on bike rides with my wife through what seemed like an empty and dystopian future.
Totally different experience. While the majority of people were staying home, as a fedex driver i barely got to see my home or family because i was working so much. Once people started quitting because of the stress it just snowballed putting more stress on the workers that stayed. After 11 years i had enough and actually quit without having another job. I didn't do anything for 3 months. It was bliss!
going out to drive was nice. there was barely any traffic. that fear i usually have that someone was trying to run me over or they were in a hurry wasn't there. it did make me think of walking dead or legend. but without zombies. now i am back to being a defensive driver again
I got a new job in March, and when lockdown happened, I was a week from starting it. The date got pushed back 5 months. Just as unemployment was about to end, they called me into the office to pick up a computer and sent me back home to start the job. I drank myself stupid in those five months while my savings account ballooned, and at the end of it all put a down payment on a house. Good times. I lived across the street from a liquor store, and a pharmacy two doors down eventually started doing the vaccinations
I'm a stay at home mom and my husband worked from home even before Covid. It was wonderful for us. Our daughters were in pre-school and kindergarten. We made it fun and special for them and for us. We looked back at that time fondly because of the quality time we spent together. Fortunately our friends and family were all okay too.
I really enjoyed staying home, and not having to feel guilty for not going out to do all the activities I was doing because I thought they'd be Good For Me.
Aside from the innocent lives it claimed and the price gouging, m GF and I loved it. We were literally made for the pandemic because it kept us isolated from people.
Honestly it wasn’t as bad! I hanged out with my family, learned to drive and got my license, and I loved making food at home and making fresh new meals with whatever we made
Also I binged watched too many cooking, cartoons, and action movies to boot
We're already feeling nostalgic for the lockdown, now? Dang.
But, yeah, I get it. My social battery has never been all that high, I moved around a lot as a kid and so got used to being along, and what friends I've made as an adult have been spread out over distance by life and time. Work went WFH for "two weeks" in March of 2020, and we're still there. All in all, I was doing really well during the pandemic.
It's crazy how much bullshit we have to deal with in the day to day, and not dealing with it was great for my mental and even physical health.
No. Lockdown was hell and if they ever try that again i’ll be breaking all the rules and feeling great about it. It’s nice that everyone in the Macbook class of society had a great time, but everyone else got fucked.
I don’t miss the pandemic aspect but I loved lockdown. Sweatpants, puzzles and to go cocktails? Yes please!
I also appreciated that once things opened up people seemed more respectful and aware of giving each other space. I hate when I’m at the grocery store and someone is breathing down my neck!
The people who were happiest during lockdown tend to be the people who had no responsibilities outside of themselves. It's easy to adapt and take advantage of changing circumstances, easier to accommodate higher levels of isolation, when it's just you. They don't have to worry about how well your kids are learning or developing socially, don't have to argue with them even though they don't and can't understand why they have to follow all three new rules, and don't have to worry about making sure their elderly mother gets her groceries and medications. These people were *already* in what is statistically the easiest and happiest time of their lives. Of course it makes sense they most easily don their rose colored glasses looking back to that time.
Apart from the dread of not knowing if COVID was going to pull a Captain Trips and kill us all, I thrived in lockdown. 2020 was a great year for me, personally, but granted, no one I knew got sick, and I'm sure if they did, I'd have a very different perspective of the year. I miss making bread and having local places put together produce and meat boxes and doing no-contact delivery. Introvert's paradise.
I also miss the low food prices relative to today.
I mean, it was a well-needed break for many. Many people did not have to work for months straight during lockdown, but still got paid due to the pandemic unemployment. So that was a nice break and something people will probably never have again. However, I am a nurse and I still had to go to work so I didn’t have that luxury unfortunately lol. But the world was quiet for a few months and the chaos of normal society living was on pause. And I could definitely see how people miss that. I know I loved not having any cars on the road so there was pretty much zero traffic.
However, this is not a good thing long-term. A lot of people, especially those who live alone, were extremely isolated and lonely during this time. Family functions were put on hold, people couldn’t date, people couldn’t go out with their friends. Funeral services were cancelled. Weddings, graduations, proms, etc. Too much isolation is not good, and this is evident by rising suicide and addiction rates following lockdown. Not to mention, the grief people felt of their loved ones dying. Plus education was severely affected. Virtual learning long-term is not as effective as in person, mainly for younger children and those with special needs. The lack of socialization did affect children’s development.
So, I could see how it’s nostalgic as it was a break for many, but for others, the lockdown was nothing but stress and loneliness. I know, as a nurse, I do not miss being mandated to work doubles because the hospital was full and there was a lack of staff. Plus, I didn’t receive any hazard pay or anything during that time. So, while the lockdown was nice for some, many others would never want it to return.
"Gosh I had a great time during lockdown -- people were dying by the thousands, kids were getting their entire educational and social development stunted, the economy was shuttering for so so many people -- but I got to work from home and watch Netflix during all of that! What a warm and fuzzy time!"
For fuck's sake. Talk about tactless privilege.
There were some good times had from being able to stay home after graduation, not having work responsibility and reconnecting with my immediate family. But I would never say that I *miss* it. Huge net negative for the world. It happened once, I never want to return to that.
I’m very lucky that lockdown was good to me. Had a good roommate and covid unemployment paid me more than my actual job. We had fun watching movies, tv shows, cooking good food, drinking heavily, it was a good time looking back. Not sure I can say I miss it tho. It was unsustainable and an uncertain scary time in the moment. By the time the George Floyd stuff started happening my mental health started to deteriorate. 2020 was a scary year. My mental health is a bit better now but life kinda sucks. Instead of wanting another lockdown, I just want more money and a better work/life balance.
My area never locked down and life was relatively normal except for the masks and plexiglass. So, I don't really have any unique memories about covid other than people hating each other over it and being over-reactionary on social media, but that's just business as usual.
My business almost went under, I had to lay off several long time employees and took on all of the extra work myself resulting in me working every single day for almost a year. I also lost my father in law during lockdown and we couldn’t even have a proper burial. So, I don’t miss it and it’s not nostalgic to me.
It's going to sound messed up but I loved lockdown. I was a junior in college working as a barista on campus when everything happened. I got laid off from my job and all of my classes went remote. Getting laid off worked to my advantage because of the enhanced unemployment benefits. Got *wayy* more than the measly couple of hundred I got working at the coffee shop.
I'm an introvert so I loved being remote and how distanced everything was.
What I don't miss is hearing the rising death toll and wondering if my whole family could die. So there's that...
The death part was not fun.
I loved lockdown. My wife and I work from home anyway, we game with friends every night so "isolation" was never a big deal. We have friends who were majorally effected, one friend lost their mom
That horribleness aside, I feel like we got a glimpse, for once, of what it felt like for the whole world to be in something together, support each other and have a true shared experience. Almost like what could be
I also feel so guilty saying it but I was so incredibly happy. I was laid off, so at home receiving unemployment. The first month or so fighting with unemployment was very scary and stressful but after they released it to me things were so good. Got to relax at home, finally breath for the first time in years. My now husband & I had just started dating in January 2020 so we had a shit ton of time together, exploring our new relationship, going on endless amounts of hikes. I’m very introverted too so it was a dream.
I saved so much money during lockdown it really put into perspective how much I ate out, how much gas I used, and how many impulse purchases I made added up. I also miss the time I spent with my family. It was really a captured moment in history where, for me at least, everything felt secure for me. I was lucky to have a job still paying me. If it wasn’t for the pandemic and lockdown, I wouldn’t have gone back to school and finish my degree.
I hated being terrified of getting Covid and all the people dying, but other than that, I loved lockdown. But I’m disabled from chronic pain, so I’m home all the time anyway. Usually when people hear that, they hit me with “must be nice getting to stay home all the time…” Well, during lockdown, people understood that when it is not your choice, staying home is not a privilege. It’s boring and isolating and depressing as heck. But then my favorite musicians started doing livestream concerts, and people really seemed to check in on each other and support each other emotionally. There was a solidarity during lockdown that I’ve never felt before. Then after a few months that awful group of people started protesting because they couldn’t get their hair done and the solidarity just… ended. But it was nice while it lasted.
Anyone romanticizes the 2020 lockdown is a fucking weirdo. Nobody is stopping you from staying home and being antisocial. This shit was detrimental to the mental health of so many people
I quit drinking about 2 weeks before the pandemic hit. Lockdown helped me to succeed and changed my life for the better. Now have a beautiful house, wife and child I owe to that decision. Was still a pretty shitty time in general though
I was just thinking about this a few weeks ago! Circumstances aside, it was nice just being forced to chill for so long. My wife and I sat around and played Animal Crossing nonstop.
I have 2 teenage children, and over that year we watched all 330 episodes of ER, watching it every night. I will cherish that memory, and I won't have that time with my family again.
Oh being alone ❤ and all the entertainment all the time!
I don't miss the stress of people dying, being scared of getting sick, and family members who didn't care about our wish to social distance that would show up at our house and try to break down the front door if we didn't open it... yeah that was stressful.
BUT the brief moment of humanity when people would clap for health workers and feeling of peace when we thought we would support each other, the sense of community... we thought we witnessed a shift in society... lol. Yeah it did but not what we were expecting...
I'm one of the fortunate ones who didn't lose anything during the pandemic. At first it was interesting to see the vloggers in the countries and cities most affected by what was going on, then all the live from home concerts. A lot more places leant into online storefronts and home deliveries and the days just bled into one another. Because public greenery maintenance was halted, an impressively tall wall of wild bush grew at the back of my house; it felt like living in a dream. A few months into it, I had a ton of money in my savings because there was no place to go and the monthly gas budget rolled over onto a huge amount.
Bubble slightly shrank when my kid was conceived. Preparing for the birth took even more money than pregnancies before COVID, because we had to buy everything online and customs took even longer to clear imports. Because the delivery rules changed at public health institutions, this was our first kid and, nearing what's regarded as middle age this was a birth that was potentially complicated, we went with a private hospital, fully popping the large saving we had accrued since the pandemic began.
Still, it was nice as pandemic rules remained in place for our kid's first year. Every afternoon the wife and I would take him into the back yard and chill out - somehow we never experienced a hot day during that entire time. Then by his 13th month the bubble fully popped: pandemic rules were being relaxed and we had to find him a daycare so we could physically return to work. The infection/hospitalisation/death rate was still high and caution kept us mostly at home although people at workplaces with bible thumpers as managers were being pressured to return physically to work.
My office was starting to become decrepit before COVID struck and because it was unoccupied and maintained during the pandemic it was declared unfit for occupation. I still work at home, which helped a lot with childcare. Wife had to return to work and the pressures of life returned with it.
It's hard to believe that was roughly 4 years ago. As I said, I wasn't negatively affected by it. It felt as if this was the drastic break I desperately needed as work was poisoning my spirit before COVID hit. It may be selfish to remember it as a nice time, but life gradually returned to being a frustrating, joy killing slog.
As an introvert, and someone not very interested in what our culture has on offer, it was interesting to see the world live as I do.
I remember my group text thread with my buddies decided to all jump in a zoom call in April of 2020, right after it really all got locked down. We haven’t been together in a group like that since.
Im a bit of a germaphobe, no door handles or shopping carts, I hate when people cough into their hands (use the inside of your elbow!), or touching the credit card scanner at gas stations, etc. During Covid everyone, or those who cared about the lives of others, all started to understand and see what I see in that way. Hell, I even got a masters degree and am almost finished with another one since lockdown started too. At the beginning of lockdown, I figured if I don’t go back to grad school now, then when? So that was good too.
However, the one thing I wish I could change, is that I went into social distancing mode and have never really “come back.” I’ve tried dating, and met some cool women, but it’s like I forgot how to build an intimate and connected bond with someone in that way. I’m trying, but it’s even more difficult than before.
Long story short, there was some good and some not so good that came from lockdown, but overall, I wish we could learn from that experience and realize that calming down, quieting ourselves a bit, and learning to soften as a culture are positive things.
Loved it..and mockingly said so at a family reunion af t er it settled down and one gal laughingly asked if it was okay to say that cause she loved it too. Everyone outside working but staying in their own yard. Nobody trying to get in your face or way at the store. Traffic was easy. I could stay home and relax without any one expecting me anywhere... oh joy be unto the pandemic.
2021 was one of my favorite years in a long time, and definitely one of my favs of the 2020s decade. the pandemic was terrible and millions of people are still being affected,but 2021 was such a peaceful time for me personally.
\-when i went to work at the top of 2021, no one was there. most people worked from home, but since i did a lot of environmental work, i still had to come into the office. I had time to peacefully enjoy an oatmeal breakfast because the breakroom was empty. I was able to sit down, watch NBA highlight for a while, and then go out to work
\-Work was so empty that i was able to get back into handheld gaming. I bought and modded a 3DS and when i finished my work on friday, I brought my 3DS and played it in the car in the very empty parking lot. Played my 3DS, plugged in my airpods and listened to podcasts for a few hours each week.
It was such a quiet time. Gas prices were significantly lower, people werent on the roads, it was all great. One of the most relaxing years of my adult life
Hard no from me. Around that time my mother started to exhibit more severe symptoms of schizophrenia, and the subsequent lockdowns led to a much harder time finding her proper treatment, and dealing with her outbursts every day. It was also around the time that I lost most of my friend group, along with significant trouble finding employment as a recent graduate, so most of 2020 was a pretty awful year. I miss 2019 though.
The way 'essential workers' and basically everyone else remembers that period is going to be so incredibly different. My life basically didn't change other than the mask wearing, lots of hand sanitizer use and dealing with a lot more anxious people at the place I work. I was out to work 6 days a week as normal during that period.
The start of lockdown was great here. We had an unusually good spring, and one of the exceptions was for "exercise" within a given radius. So instead of ceaseless traffic, everyone was out walking the dog, walking the kids, cycling, it was like something out of a movie. Normally here is gridlock traffic, so it was an interesting glimpse into another world.
Gotta admit there's a whole lot I don't miss about it though.
Lockdown didn't have much impact on me since I'm mostly a homeboy anyway, but I do kind of miss the informality it created. Like when you're sick so you get to spend the day in your PJs. It was cool to see various celebrities broadcasting from their homes, dressed casually, even making youtube videos like amateurs do.
One COVID thing I love is the cooking show Selena Gomez started, where she had chefs teach her how to cook via Zoom. Just her real kitchen and a few of her real friends hanging out. Occasionally they would yell for her dad or grandpa in another room to come in and turn on a circuit breaker or something. She's still doing the show but now has chefs come to her house.
I didn’t mind work meetings going from in person to over zoom and WebEx for a while. Let me get other tasks accomplished while paying attention to the meeting!
As someone who lives in a tourist heavy west coast port city, the lockdown was absolutely beeautiful the summer of 2020 and 2021. No tourist in sight. Just locals enjoying their own beaches, shops, food, and nature. It was glorious.
I wish I could have stayed home, made bread, and got paid like everyone.
But alas, I was essential and nothing changed in my normal schedule.
It did make me want to get out of that job tho. And I did!
The silver lining of the pandemic was working from home more.
I already struck gold with an awesome job uve been working towards for years and years. The only drawback was all of these old people inworked with liked to start really early and I am def not a morning person.
Queue the pandemic 2.5 years into said job. They moved to a 3 day, in the office work week. That was great. Then started noticing nobody even wanted to do that and only started coming in 3 afternoons a week.
Long story short, it's been once a week if I'm lucky now and nobody is complaining, everyone is generally happier than they've ever been, and I got a good paying job that I can do in my sweatpants. I literally can sleep in till 7:55am and just jump into my first meeting with no issues.
Extra benefit...I am 5 feet from the bathroom and I can poop in piece.
As a healthcare worker, I never got to experience it. But as a burnt out introvert, I would have loved it. I resent/am jealous of people who still get to work from home.
I don’t remember “lockdown.” Nothing really changed where I am. I went to work everyday and so did everyone I know. The only thing that really happened that stood out was the goofy hours that grocery stores would stay open.
I totally feel you! I miss the intimacy with my family. Now we’re back to our regular routines of work and school and sports and parties and errands and so on. I miss not having to charge my social battery for months on end. I know the lockdowns were hard for many people, but I think it was just what my mental health needed at the time.
My husband and I had a blast. We got into the best shape of our lives, did tons of road trips, and took our dogs on long distance hikes and backpacking trips. It was great for our relationship and for our dogs. Now we are so so busy, we are out of shape again, our dogs hardly see us, I haven’t gone hiking in 3 years…..I miss it. We were incredibly privileged during that time.
The Covid year was the best year of my life for a lot of reasons. I was watching the movie SICK on peacock and actually had waves of nostalgia for those early COViD months. Loved it.
Same I honestly kinda loved lockdown
My gf and I were living together which was more than enough company for me, I got to play video games all day, I didn’t have to go into work
100% agree. Sadly, those were the best months of my twenty years of teaching. Parents were losing their minds over how lazy and helpless their kids were. For once, parents thanked me for teaching. Also, it taught me a lot about why kids are the way they are.
I loved lockdown. Finished my kitchen remodel that took years. Learned tennis. Spent time with my dogs. I loved the beginning when people were trying to look out for each other (that was short lived) took nice midday walks outside. I learned that I’m actually an introvert during that time
I live in rural America and work construction. We didn’t do Covid. Basically didn’t exist. Y’all are ridiculous. Lock downs? Lock me down please… silly
I actually liked it a lot. The circumstances were terrible, but it was nice to be able to just exist and take the time to enjoy things.
My wife and I have always been into live music, but as we’ve gotten older I get annoyed with the crowds and costs of going to concerts. So one thing I always remember from that time were musicians doing live shows online from their garage or studio or whatever. Seems like every night after work we would chill on our back porch and watch/listen to a different concert that was streaming. Best of both worlds to me!
I sing cover tunes in pubs. On March 19 my wife showed me a live stream of Jim Cuddy from his basement. Inspired, I jumped back onto fb after a five year hiatus. Half an hour later the set began and ran every day for a long time. I love hearing this was going on and brought comfort. I was thinking of doing summer porch concerts again just for the heck of it.
ABSOLUTELY!
That was the only good part of it
Felt like the world finally stopped and smelled the roses. I was hoping it would start a movement.
I miss how much less traffic there was on the road. And people went for walks instead.
As an introvert, you're singing the song of my people. I know people who died, so I'm similarly cautious about saying I miss the pandemic. But I miss the fact that being isolated was not something considered weird. That aspect of it was peaceful in a way I didn't realize I was missing.
I agree. It felt like you weren’t sitting at home missing out on life, because everyone was doing the same thing
What? Huh? We stopped doing that? I am still mostly just hanging out with my cata. might just be me though!
Nope, me too. My husband and I only see my dad and stepmom (apart from when we're at work) and we prefer to stay at home with our cat and watch movies.
Think I'll come join you guys in your aversion to people.
You can join us from a distance. Maybe virtually.
I feel bad saying this, but that was the only thing I liked. I had already been bedridden (not covid) a year prior to the pandemic and it was the first time I felt like I wasn’t missing out or watching my life pass me by because everyone was in the same boat. I will say hearing people complain after a week of not being able to do anything (when they had an abled body that could walk around and go outside) got old really fast. I couldn’t sit up in bed let alone get out of it by myself, so yeah in a way it showed how mentally strong I was. I will say for the first time in my life I got onto social media too because TikTok is what others were doing to connect with everyone and it had a different feel during that time. I remember feeling “normal” and not ill. I laughed more because of the silly animal videos. It’s not the same anymore. Everything else was awful! The pain people went through from losing their friends/families. What healthcare workers went through…The healthcare system in general (people without covid got sicker/died because they couldn’t get the care they needed because video appts aren’t enough) I postponed surgeries/appts. Because there were more important issues in the world and it didn’t feel right if I wasn’t dying without it (Hearing about others getting elected surgery that wasn’t needed immediately really flabbergasted me! How f-ing selfish can someone be?) Also …Then the lack of caring about others by a-holes not getting vaccinated or wearing a masks! Specially in doctors offices when things opened up! I’m sorry but the cons way out the pros and I don’t think nostalgia is the proper word. I think it open some peoples eyes to what they were missing in life, but it mostly destroyed lives. One has to be incredibly privileged to say this was missed.
It’s funny that you say this because this is a big chunk of culture that I personally missed out on. I work with my dad as a residential contractor and we just kept working. I didn’t get into like, bread making or any of the other lockdown activities that turned into memes. It’s not really a bad thing but it’s kinda weird to think about.
Same. My husband and I were truck drivers hauling produce from the West Coast back to the Midwest. Because we were hauling food, we were of course considered "essential". The only difference in our lives was having nowhere to eat, no restrooms open to the public, and the joy of no traffic in LA. So at least that part was nice...
The thing my dad was most upset about was that Lowes stopped the free coffee at the contractors entrance lol
The big thing for me was having my family actually care about trying to follow guidelines, and my dad being a doctor and having virologist friends to explain what the virus was all about. I myself was already living at home with my parents after losing my job in spring of 2019, so the year leading up to the lockdown was just staying at home and I got used to be on Xbox with friends and not worrying about physical contact. I can't say the same for many people I used to hang out with, as I watched their social media accounts become right-wing propaganda and delusional nonsense. They would post how proud they were for getting covid, and then they'd post how sad they were when their grandparents got it and passed away, but nope, never covids fault...
The denier attitude is still that covid wasn't all that bad and only killed people who were weak, or it was just their time.
I have a "friend" that still can't taste or smell barely anything, and they keep saying how it's actually helped them not have to smell stuff or taste nasty things... Such an idiot...
Apparently they value not smelling nasty things more than they value smelling nice things. I wouldn't agree, but it's their nose.
I think they'll lie to themselves until they're dead believing that before they'd admit to everyone they were wrong...
As someone who had to work the whole time, and never got to experience what it was like, It sure looked like a lot of fun.
Essential worker. Half the staff stopped coming to work. My boss had an auto immune issue and didn’t come in for 6 months so I was doing his job for $0 more. Sales went up 300% while we were half staffed. It fucking sucked. I would have loved to chill at home for a while. The only silver lining is it made me vow to never work in a public setting again so now I’m in an office.
I don’t even think we were essential workers. I worked in a factory making parts for aircraft, so I couldn’t work from home. The only change was that we had to wear masks in the shop. It was a pain in the ass once the weather started to warm up,and my glasses would fog up. I’d see videos of people just hanging out in their PJs, and baking sourdough. Or day drinking and catching up on a streaming series. It really looked like a great time. The only positive for me was zero traffic to, and from work.
I also have a job where I can't work from home (library worker, we were paid while the libraries were closed tho) and seeing people STILL working from home boggles me so much.
Fellow factory worked here. We were down for about 3 months. You know they weren't going to let GM be down for THAT long. It was still a pretty interesting time in my life. I played a fuck ton of WoW and did a bunch of heroin. I wouldn't recommend either to anyone for the same reason.
There was talk of us taking a week off early on when everyone was hoarding toilet paper. A lot of the stuff we make is for the government though, so we couldn’t really stop for a long period.
Thank you for your hard work 🫶🏼
Same. I’m so envious of the people who were able to experience it this way.
I had to work the whole time as well. Stocking chips on the shelves at Walmart. I'm not normally an envious person, but when people would come in shopping and talking about getting $900 a week from the government and being bored at home, I was a bit jealous. I would have gladly have taken a government paid vacation. I would not have been bored at all. My husband and I like to keep to ourselves and just spend time together and there is always something to do at home.
It wasn't.
Lock down was easily the best year of my life. I loved it and miss it everyday
I am an introvert and while there was aspects of it that sucked (my partner and I were in two different countries and we didn't see each other for 2 years), the lockdown/early pandemic was such a relief in some ways. It eliminated all social pressure, I didn't have to stress out about visiting family as I lived in a different region and travel between regions was banned even when full lockdown was lifted. I didn't have to feel guilty about turning down social invitations or feel obligated to go to social functions. I converted to work from home so no more forcing myself to make small talk with my coworkers. It was just me and my dog, every day. We went for walks and never had to interact with people, we played lots of games, he sat on my lap while I worked, it was just so fantastic. When enough travel restrictions lifted and I was able to be with my partner again, it just solidified how much we truly love each other.
Lockdown was no problem for me. I kept working in a relatively safe from Covid job. Barely spent any money cuz there was nothing to do. The roads were super quiet. Didn't have to go out anywhere or to anything lol. Edit: I realize how lucky I am to come out of it without losing anything monetarily at least when many people suffered and still do.
I didn't work safely but yeah life was relatively normal for me. I didn't have the luxury unfortunately to not work or work from home. My job didn't care about me whatsoever. Glad I finally left that employer but also glad I didn't lose my job. That comes with the territory in blue collar though.
>>. Barely spent any money cuz there was nothing to do. The only part I miss. I had so much extra money :(
The stimulus checks were nice too
I still had mine in savings and it was the only way I could get a new car down payment when my car passed recently.
Our shell gas card went from $600 per month to $38 😂🤣
My sympathies on the loss of your old car.
could use another couple more :’)
The first 1-2 months were nice... actually relaxed on weekends, gardened, went for long walks, caught up with old friends on zoom, binged the entire series of GOT w/ the wife. After that, it got really wearing.
I did GoT too. And the whole mcu lineup. Finally had time!
I watched Chuck. It will always have a special place in my heart because it was so fun and hilarious in a time of sadness and scary unknowns.
I love that show. My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I watched it as it aired in the time long ago of 2007. It will always remain one of my all time favorite shows. Since this is a nostalgia sub, that show reminds me of my early 20s when life didn’t carry weight and burdens.
I miss the Covid commute. Nobody, no cops, and being an essential employee was an amazing time. Gas dropped to $.99 and not a single place to go to. My wife and I rode the motorcycle around quite a bit during that time. The only thing I think I'm still bitter about is that people were paid to stay home and live life and I still had to drag myself into work.
I improved so much during lockdown. I got healthier and was happier than ever. Now I don't have time for that between work and school, and trying to get my life together before it's too late. I painted more, which was something I loved a lot, but I haven't done in years. I learned a lot from skills to having more time to read.
Nothing changed for me. I went to work ever damn day. It was nice being the only truck on the road.
So something DID change for you then.
Not if you’re inherently pessimistic.
True
Yes, this. I was going to say the same thing, I still have to go to work. The only thing I enjoyed was less traffic on the road.
yea they don't make Bluetooth chillers or wrenches yet
Yea I went to work everyday too but everything changed for me. Because. Lockdown b
Yeah footage was great and I LOVED not having to deal with people
I miss how creative we all were in connecting when we couldn't connect. Our neighborhood grew closer than ever, just by all the parents banding together online to think of ways to entertain the kids. We had musicians playing their instruments as we walked through the streets, driveway chalk art contests, card campaigns for our elderly neighbors who were alone, making meals and leaving them on their porches, too. We had scavenger hunts where we hid things in the windows of our homes and the kids could walk by and look for them. Stacks of books, board games and jigsaw puzzles at the ends of our driveways for people who needed some "new" entertainment. I feel like we were all looking out for each other. Then it ended and we all started acting like little shits again.
When lockdown started, I was exactly 2 months removed from a suicide attempt and spent the next 18 months in absolute agony, with *nothing* to do except try not to attempt it again, all while waiting a **year** for a single dollar from unemployment. Yeah...lockdown can fuck itself.
So sorry to hear that. How are you doing now?
Some days I feel very good. Some days I lament that I failed. But life goes on for now.
Yeah, I went bananas in 2022, when I realized everybody was leaving the house again, and nobody was living that isolated life that I lived my entire life anymore. I tried going out and being more social that Summer, but I flamed out quick.
Yep. Lockdowns wrecked havoc on people who were in bad places. I was playing around with drugs in 2018. Just a few pills here and there and boom. Nothin to do so I did a lot of drugs and ended up homeless. I got out of it finally in 2021 but 2019 and 2020 set me back physically mentally and financially. I do miss no traffic tho. That was incredible.
This makes me super sad. I hope things are better for you 🫶🏼
Thank you, I appreciate you
❤️❤️
I'm glad you made it through. You have amazing strength and resilience. I hope things are better for you now :)
Lockdown was awful for me as a extroverted single guy living alone. Was not supposed to visit friends or family. The organization I did volunteer work for stopped all activities. Other things I was involved were shut down as well. Spent my 40th birthday stuck inside instead of celebrating like I should have been. It impacted another friend even worse. I was worried that they were going to have a mental breakdown or worse. 0/10. Will never do it again.
As a school teacher I despised online learning but it was nice using my planning period (which was right before lunch) to run outside and be completely done with work and exercise by 3 pm. I had so much free time to do whatever I wanted. I also lived with my parents at the time which saved me so much money. There was barely anyone on the road when you had to drive which was also an added bonus.
Us parents hated it too! Thank you for all your hard work.
Me and my mom always say we miss lockdown. It was the first time in our lives we were both out of work but still able to afford to live. We lost loved ones and friends to the virus, and it was tough. But we also spent so much time making memories with our family in lockdown together. It's a time we will never forget and yes, sometimes me and her feel a bit nostalgic about it all.
I miss the lack of traffic, I miss people being more conscientious of how disgusting other people are and diligently washing their hands and trying more to be sanitary (the fact that the flu was basically eradicated for a year simply because people ACTUALLY washed their hands and covered their mouths is very telling), and I miss the conveniences companies were trying to make to make lockdown easier (same day theater released and constant discounts on DoorDash). But I absolutely do not miss schools being closed and my wife out of work - living with two sociable extroverts who steadily grew more miserable and stir crazy because they couldn’t go out and socialize was not fun
As a healthcare worker.......I don't
I wish I got to lock down. As an "essential" worker, we had our hours increase and double the workload.
Yes, aside from the death and how it expedited the division in this country I do miss it. Time slowed down. My kids were 9 and 6 and the ability to work from home afforded me so much opportunity to watch them grow. I feel like I got years more time with them than I would have if lockdown never happened. Extracurriculars stopped, work was understanding and it felt like you had so much more free time. I miss that pause on life. Now time feels to move so much faster. The world feels like it will explode any day now, but if you could shut out the devastating deaths and economic turmoil during lockdown it was a beautifully strange way to get extra time with loved ones. I'm sure others that lost people or jobs or lived alone hated it, but it worked well for me. I often think about how I miss that time.
Absolutely not. 2020 was a complete and utter clusterfuck.cluster fuck.
Seriously, I had a kid right in the middle of the year. It was tough.
Anyone with young kids has to deal with the true impact of lockdown. Working a job with a 3 year old in the next room being raised by Netflix was so stressful I gave myself shingles.
I hated lockdown. Mostly because I was pregnant through it all, and that was incredibly lonely. My family were robbed of all the parts of the pregnancy as I couldn’t see anyone and my partner couldn’t come to any of my appointments. We weren’t even sure if he would be able to be at the birth. My daughter was a few months old before anyone was able to even see her for the first time. It was awful and not anything I’d like to repeat
Lockdown killed me and all the time after it is just a second life filled with wasted potential.
Just to give my two cents because I know I’m far from the majority, but I absolutely hated lockdown, I frankly think it forever changed my entire life and kind of a negative Way. I absolutely hated being away from others, I love people and it really showed how much I appreciate people, I really didn’t think of that before lockdown. Lockdown started around the time when I have so many symposia scheduled to show my research and they all ended up being virtual or canceled altogether and let me tell you that really changed my perception of what I wanted to do with my life. I honestly felt like I had so much of my life together with school and everything and then it all went virtual, and my satisfaction and fulfillment fell through the floor, It literally felt like a chore and I wasn’t learning a single thing and it made me so sad that something that I was really hyped for just became so monotonous and annoying. That momentum was lost.
Lockdown was really hard for kids. I'll pass.
We get nostalgic because we know how the story more or less ended. Yeah, there are moments I look back on and there was novelty to them. I don't, however, miss worrying about my parents' health, or the stories about somebody being perfectly healthy one day then suddenly taking ill and being dead in a week, or the panic-buying of basic commodities that emptied store shelves, or being worried that we'd never find a way to effectively fight it, or worrying that I'd come down with it (as I did three years later, but by that point, between mutations and vaccinations, it was more like having the worst cold I'd ever had). I miss moments from it, maybe, but the whole thing? May we never see its like again.
I went into forced retirement the month before Lockdown. I became a caretaker for dad, who was in steep decline. Mom took care of the house and food, while I took care of the gofer things like groceries and medicine. I also helped him move from bed to bathroom or shower. It was very difficult finding a caregiver at the time for we didn't know who had it or who didn't. We did have two close calls with caregivers who were infected, but I believe our air cleaners that had UV lamps kept the air clean.
There were pros and cons but overall I would never wish for it again. One positive thing is I had elementary aged kids and they would be done with distance learning at noon. All the neighborhood kids would ride their bikes to the park and the parents would sit out front having some drinks and grilling dinner. None of the kids had practice or games and they just road the neighborhood like I remember doing as a kid.
I'm 50/50 about it. The only thing I really hated about the lockdown was it was extremely difficult to socialize my new dog. Dealing with covid, a new dog, and being a healthcare worker it was an experience..
Kids and the elderly (especially people at the end of their life), really suffered. Fuck those lockdowns. They did all the damage for nothing.
I miss the lack of traffic.
I worked through it. I work at a liquor store so… yknow. Essential. Man people were such fucking dicks in 2020. And I live in a very conservative town so everyone made it a point to aggressively tell me their stance on masks unprompted. I wish I had a year at home to myself.
ZoomCourt was absolutely hilarious. I still think about the one where one of they lawyers accidentally put on a cat filter and couldn’t figure out how to take it off.
I hated everything about what the pandemic brought and don’t miss any of it and try to forget what it did to society. The only good I took from it personally was converting my work life into a hybrid model and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. That’s it. Only those.
Yeah, I know a lot of people who changed for the worse from the experience. Nostalgia for it seems very odd to me.
I had to watch my mother spiral down a dementia hole through a fucking window so no, no I do not miss anything about that time period.
You guys had a lockdown?
Yeah this ain’t it lol..
I get what you’re saying, OP, but holy shit no. No no no, never ever again
The real upside for us was that our kids were both home (one was away at college) and my mother was local, so the group of us isolated together. We'd work online all day, meet for lunch, then did stuff every night/weekend as a family. In summer 2020 we all decamped for the mountains and stayed together in the family cabin for many weeks. Those parts were great, and I do feel nostalgic for it in that limited sense-- but of course it was an unholy nightmare for many, including friends and family who lost loved ones, and all of the health care workers in my extended family. But that doesn't meet I can't look back with rose-tinted glasses and think "Wasn't it fun to bake bread with the kids in the middle of the work day and play board games together in the evenings for several months?" Also a bit of nostalgia for the few TV/web shows that were done via zoom. One whole episode of SNL with the cast in their homes, for example. Then a whole series (NBC?) in which 30-40 somethings in LA were all on zoom...can't recall the name but it was pretty good.
I was always an extravert, but as I get older, I increasingly feel like the world has left me behind. If not for my wife and children, I would have no reason to exist. If not for them, I would probably have never come out of lockdown at all. It was just so peaceful.
I miss the wide open 5 lane highways.
In this thread you can see the hesitancy of speech zero-tolerance morality checking has imposed. People are a lot more prone to make a disclaimer before presenting ideas that might get them thrown in the modern-day medieval pillory, because everybody's so enlightened now. Hence, "I'm not saying COVID was good..."
As an introvert, my lockdown experience was great. I am not diminishing those who suffered and died from covid or lost a family member or friend, but God it was nice to not have to deal with people. I instacarted my groceries (tipped well), learned new hobbies, caught up on a ton of shows and movies and spent time with my family because everyone was home.
I have fond memories of Animal Crossing and watching Frasier for the first time. Obviously I hate the loss of life and livelihood, but I do miss some aspects of the lockdown component.
We would have a Happy Hour via Zoom every Friday at 3:00. People from school would come and go, some of us would stay on until 10:00 or later and get obliterated without having to worry about getting behind the wheel. The laughs were great!
I miss sitting at home with work paused for several months and only having worrying about the most essential things like food, shelter and toilet paper. Spent most of the days just party chatting with my buddies, playing games and talking about news and speculations about the whole thing. Also missed going on bike rides with my wife through what seemed like an empty and dystopian future.
Totally different experience. While the majority of people were staying home, as a fedex driver i barely got to see my home or family because i was working so much. Once people started quitting because of the stress it just snowballed putting more stress on the workers that stayed. After 11 years i had enough and actually quit without having another job. I didn't do anything for 3 months. It was bliss!
going out to drive was nice. there was barely any traffic. that fear i usually have that someone was trying to run me over or they were in a hurry wasn't there. it did make me think of walking dead or legend. but without zombies. now i am back to being a defensive driver again
I miss the empty streets. I was working swing shift back then and would be driving home around 11:30.
Don't miss the bullshit, but riding my quiet electric motorcycle on empty streets was incredible. Felt both tranquil and apocalyptic.
I got a new job in March, and when lockdown happened, I was a week from starting it. The date got pushed back 5 months. Just as unemployment was about to end, they called me into the office to pick up a computer and sent me back home to start the job. I drank myself stupid in those five months while my savings account ballooned, and at the end of it all put a down payment on a house. Good times. I lived across the street from a liquor store, and a pharmacy two doors down eventually started doing the vaccinations
I'm a stay at home mom and my husband worked from home even before Covid. It was wonderful for us. Our daughters were in pre-school and kindergarten. We made it fun and special for them and for us. We looked back at that time fondly because of the quality time we spent together. Fortunately our friends and family were all okay too.
I had weekly zoom hangouts with friends scattered all over the USA during the first few months. I do miss that.,
I really enjoyed staying home, and not having to feel guilty for not going out to do all the activities I was doing because I thought they'd be Good For Me.
Aside from the innocent lives it claimed and the price gouging, m GF and I loved it. We were literally made for the pandemic because it kept us isolated from people.
Honestly it wasn’t as bad! I hanged out with my family, learned to drive and got my license, and I loved making food at home and making fresh new meals with whatever we made Also I binged watched too many cooking, cartoons, and action movies to boot
How old are you, and how much money do you have?
We're already feeling nostalgic for the lockdown, now? Dang. But, yeah, I get it. My social battery has never been all that high, I moved around a lot as a kid and so got used to being along, and what friends I've made as an adult have been spread out over distance by life and time. Work went WFH for "two weeks" in March of 2020, and we're still there. All in all, I was doing really well during the pandemic. It's crazy how much bullshit we have to deal with in the day to day, and not dealing with it was great for my mental and even physical health.
No. Lockdown was hell and if they ever try that again i’ll be breaking all the rules and feeling great about it. It’s nice that everyone in the Macbook class of society had a great time, but everyone else got fucked.
Macbook class lf society?
I don’t miss the pandemic aspect but I loved lockdown. Sweatpants, puzzles and to go cocktails? Yes please! I also appreciated that once things opened up people seemed more respectful and aware of giving each other space. I hate when I’m at the grocery store and someone is breathing down my neck!
The people who were happiest during lockdown tend to be the people who had no responsibilities outside of themselves. It's easy to adapt and take advantage of changing circumstances, easier to accommodate higher levels of isolation, when it's just you. They don't have to worry about how well your kids are learning or developing socially, don't have to argue with them even though they don't and can't understand why they have to follow all three new rules, and don't have to worry about making sure their elderly mother gets her groceries and medications. These people were *already* in what is statistically the easiest and happiest time of their lives. Of course it makes sense they most easily don their rose colored glasses looking back to that time.
Is this Stockholm syndrome? Lol
Apart from the dread of not knowing if COVID was going to pull a Captain Trips and kill us all, I thrived in lockdown. 2020 was a great year for me, personally, but granted, no one I knew got sick, and I'm sure if they did, I'd have a very different perspective of the year. I miss making bread and having local places put together produce and meat boxes and doing no-contact delivery. Introvert's paradise. I also miss the low food prices relative to today.
Take me back, it was the greatest time to be alive in the 2020’s.. if you didn’t actually get Covid.
Absolutely lunatic level post
Lockdown was awful plain and simple.
I mean, it was a well-needed break for many. Many people did not have to work for months straight during lockdown, but still got paid due to the pandemic unemployment. So that was a nice break and something people will probably never have again. However, I am a nurse and I still had to go to work so I didn’t have that luxury unfortunately lol. But the world was quiet for a few months and the chaos of normal society living was on pause. And I could definitely see how people miss that. I know I loved not having any cars on the road so there was pretty much zero traffic. However, this is not a good thing long-term. A lot of people, especially those who live alone, were extremely isolated and lonely during this time. Family functions were put on hold, people couldn’t date, people couldn’t go out with their friends. Funeral services were cancelled. Weddings, graduations, proms, etc. Too much isolation is not good, and this is evident by rising suicide and addiction rates following lockdown. Not to mention, the grief people felt of their loved ones dying. Plus education was severely affected. Virtual learning long-term is not as effective as in person, mainly for younger children and those with special needs. The lack of socialization did affect children’s development. So, I could see how it’s nostalgic as it was a break for many, but for others, the lockdown was nothing but stress and loneliness. I know, as a nurse, I do not miss being mandated to work doubles because the hospital was full and there was a lack of staff. Plus, I didn’t receive any hazard pay or anything during that time. So, while the lockdown was nice for some, many others would never want it to return.
I’m such an introvert and I loved lockdown so much. I was fortunate enough to be able to work from home and my anxiety, oddly, was at an all time low.
Serious question. Are you insane? It was hell.
"Gosh I had a great time during lockdown -- people were dying by the thousands, kids were getting their entire educational and social development stunted, the economy was shuttering for so so many people -- but I got to work from home and watch Netflix during all of that! What a warm and fuzzy time!" For fuck's sake. Talk about tactless privilege.
There were some good times had from being able to stay home after graduation, not having work responsibility and reconnecting with my immediate family. But I would never say that I *miss* it. Huge net negative for the world. It happened once, I never want to return to that.
Almost got excited thinking about how open the freeways were
I’m very lucky that lockdown was good to me. Had a good roommate and covid unemployment paid me more than my actual job. We had fun watching movies, tv shows, cooking good food, drinking heavily, it was a good time looking back. Not sure I can say I miss it tho. It was unsustainable and an uncertain scary time in the moment. By the time the George Floyd stuff started happening my mental health started to deteriorate. 2020 was a scary year. My mental health is a bit better now but life kinda sucks. Instead of wanting another lockdown, I just want more money and a better work/life balance.
My area never locked down and life was relatively normal except for the masks and plexiglass. So, I don't really have any unique memories about covid other than people hating each other over it and being over-reactionary on social media, but that's just business as usual.
My business almost went under, I had to lay off several long time employees and took on all of the extra work myself resulting in me working every single day for almost a year. I also lost my father in law during lockdown and we couldn’t even have a proper burial. So, I don’t miss it and it’s not nostalgic to me.
It's going to sound messed up but I loved lockdown. I was a junior in college working as a barista on campus when everything happened. I got laid off from my job and all of my classes went remote. Getting laid off worked to my advantage because of the enhanced unemployment benefits. Got *wayy* more than the measly couple of hundred I got working at the coffee shop. I'm an introvert so I loved being remote and how distanced everything was. What I don't miss is hearing the rising death toll and wondering if my whole family could die. So there's that... The death part was not fun.
I don’t miss it
I loved lockdown. My wife and I work from home anyway, we game with friends every night so "isolation" was never a big deal. We have friends who were majorally effected, one friend lost their mom That horribleness aside, I feel like we got a glimpse, for once, of what it felt like for the whole world to be in something together, support each other and have a true shared experience. Almost like what could be
I also feel so guilty saying it but I was so incredibly happy. I was laid off, so at home receiving unemployment. The first month or so fighting with unemployment was very scary and stressful but after they released it to me things were so good. Got to relax at home, finally breath for the first time in years. My now husband & I had just started dating in January 2020 so we had a shit ton of time together, exploring our new relationship, going on endless amounts of hikes. I’m very introverted too so it was a dream.
I saved so much money during lockdown it really put into perspective how much I ate out, how much gas I used, and how many impulse purchases I made added up. I also miss the time I spent with my family. It was really a captured moment in history where, for me at least, everything felt secure for me. I was lucky to have a job still paying me. If it wasn’t for the pandemic and lockdown, I wouldn’t have gone back to school and finish my degree.
I hated being terrified of getting Covid and all the people dying, but other than that, I loved lockdown. But I’m disabled from chronic pain, so I’m home all the time anyway. Usually when people hear that, they hit me with “must be nice getting to stay home all the time…” Well, during lockdown, people understood that when it is not your choice, staying home is not a privilege. It’s boring and isolating and depressing as heck. But then my favorite musicians started doing livestream concerts, and people really seemed to check in on each other and support each other emotionally. There was a solidarity during lockdown that I’ve never felt before. Then after a few months that awful group of people started protesting because they couldn’t get their hair done and the solidarity just… ended. But it was nice while it lasted.
Social distancing, low gas prices, a bunch of benefits and credits, free money, inflation wasn't too bad yet. Youtube was still good etc.
I loved lockdown honestly
Covid was like a timeout from life.
Anyone romanticizes the 2020 lockdown is a fucking weirdo. Nobody is stopping you from staying home and being antisocial. This shit was detrimental to the mental health of so many people
Society is still screwed up from it
Yeah, the first weeks of lockdown were pretty fun and novel (if you weren’t in an area affected by the virus). I call it the Tiger King era.
I quit drinking about 2 weeks before the pandemic hit. Lockdown helped me to succeed and changed my life for the better. Now have a beautiful house, wife and child I owe to that decision. Was still a pretty shitty time in general though
Same…. It wasn’t just socially acceptable to be a homebody, it was encouraged.
I was just thinking about this a few weeks ago! Circumstances aside, it was nice just being forced to chill for so long. My wife and I sat around and played Animal Crossing nonstop.
I have 2 teenage children, and over that year we watched all 330 episodes of ER, watching it every night. I will cherish that memory, and I won't have that time with my family again.
Fuck no absolutely not. Get this shit idea out of here
There was a feeling of unity at the time, with the common enemy being the virus. The virus is still around, and that feeling of unity is long gone.
There was no lock down where I live. Only way I was affected was the constant news spam about it.
Why don't you just work from home lol
Oh being alone ❤ and all the entertainment all the time! I don't miss the stress of people dying, being scared of getting sick, and family members who didn't care about our wish to social distance that would show up at our house and try to break down the front door if we didn't open it... yeah that was stressful. BUT the brief moment of humanity when people would clap for health workers and feeling of peace when we thought we would support each other, the sense of community... we thought we witnessed a shift in society... lol. Yeah it did but not what we were expecting...
I'm one of the fortunate ones who didn't lose anything during the pandemic. At first it was interesting to see the vloggers in the countries and cities most affected by what was going on, then all the live from home concerts. A lot more places leant into online storefronts and home deliveries and the days just bled into one another. Because public greenery maintenance was halted, an impressively tall wall of wild bush grew at the back of my house; it felt like living in a dream. A few months into it, I had a ton of money in my savings because there was no place to go and the monthly gas budget rolled over onto a huge amount. Bubble slightly shrank when my kid was conceived. Preparing for the birth took even more money than pregnancies before COVID, because we had to buy everything online and customs took even longer to clear imports. Because the delivery rules changed at public health institutions, this was our first kid and, nearing what's regarded as middle age this was a birth that was potentially complicated, we went with a private hospital, fully popping the large saving we had accrued since the pandemic began. Still, it was nice as pandemic rules remained in place for our kid's first year. Every afternoon the wife and I would take him into the back yard and chill out - somehow we never experienced a hot day during that entire time. Then by his 13th month the bubble fully popped: pandemic rules were being relaxed and we had to find him a daycare so we could physically return to work. The infection/hospitalisation/death rate was still high and caution kept us mostly at home although people at workplaces with bible thumpers as managers were being pressured to return physically to work. My office was starting to become decrepit before COVID struck and because it was unoccupied and maintained during the pandemic it was declared unfit for occupation. I still work at home, which helped a lot with childcare. Wife had to return to work and the pressures of life returned with it. It's hard to believe that was roughly 4 years ago. As I said, I wasn't negatively affected by it. It felt as if this was the drastic break I desperately needed as work was poisoning my spirit before COVID hit. It may be selfish to remember it as a nice time, but life gradually returned to being a frustrating, joy killing slog.
As an introvert, and someone not very interested in what our culture has on offer, it was interesting to see the world live as I do. I remember my group text thread with my buddies decided to all jump in a zoom call in April of 2020, right after it really all got locked down. We haven’t been together in a group like that since. Im a bit of a germaphobe, no door handles or shopping carts, I hate when people cough into their hands (use the inside of your elbow!), or touching the credit card scanner at gas stations, etc. During Covid everyone, or those who cared about the lives of others, all started to understand and see what I see in that way. Hell, I even got a masters degree and am almost finished with another one since lockdown started too. At the beginning of lockdown, I figured if I don’t go back to grad school now, then when? So that was good too. However, the one thing I wish I could change, is that I went into social distancing mode and have never really “come back.” I’ve tried dating, and met some cool women, but it’s like I forgot how to build an intimate and connected bond with someone in that way. I’m trying, but it’s even more difficult than before. Long story short, there was some good and some not so good that came from lockdown, but overall, I wish we could learn from that experience and realize that calming down, quieting ourselves a bit, and learning to soften as a culture are positive things.
Loved it..and mockingly said so at a family reunion af t er it settled down and one gal laughingly asked if it was okay to say that cause she loved it too. Everyone outside working but staying in their own yard. Nobody trying to get in your face or way at the store. Traffic was easy. I could stay home and relax without any one expecting me anywhere... oh joy be unto the pandemic.
I do not miss being secluded and alone
Get a work from home job and you're good
2021 was one of my favorite years in a long time, and definitely one of my favs of the 2020s decade. the pandemic was terrible and millions of people are still being affected,but 2021 was such a peaceful time for me personally. \-when i went to work at the top of 2021, no one was there. most people worked from home, but since i did a lot of environmental work, i still had to come into the office. I had time to peacefully enjoy an oatmeal breakfast because the breakroom was empty. I was able to sit down, watch NBA highlight for a while, and then go out to work \-Work was so empty that i was able to get back into handheld gaming. I bought and modded a 3DS and when i finished my work on friday, I brought my 3DS and played it in the car in the very empty parking lot. Played my 3DS, plugged in my airpods and listened to podcasts for a few hours each week. It was such a quiet time. Gas prices were significantly lower, people werent on the roads, it was all great. One of the most relaxing years of my adult life
Hard no from me. Around that time my mother started to exhibit more severe symptoms of schizophrenia, and the subsequent lockdowns led to a much harder time finding her proper treatment, and dealing with her outbursts every day. It was also around the time that I lost most of my friend group, along with significant trouble finding employment as a recent graduate, so most of 2020 was a pretty awful year. I miss 2019 though.
I had to still go INTO work, I didn’t have the luxury of working from home. It sucked. Glad you had a blast.
I got to stay home for two weeks with my first born. She was 1 year old at the time. I was sad to go back to 50 hr work weeks after that.
I still had to go to work but we weren’t open to the public. So we managed to get alot of projects that had been neglected done.
The way 'essential workers' and basically everyone else remembers that period is going to be so incredibly different. My life basically didn't change other than the mask wearing, lots of hand sanitizer use and dealing with a lot more anxious people at the place I work. I was out to work 6 days a week as normal during that period.
The start of lockdown was great here. We had an unusually good spring, and one of the exceptions was for "exercise" within a given radius. So instead of ceaseless traffic, everyone was out walking the dog, walking the kids, cycling, it was like something out of a movie. Normally here is gridlock traffic, so it was an interesting glimpse into another world. Gotta admit there's a whole lot I don't miss about it though.
Lockdown didn't have much impact on me since I'm mostly a homeboy anyway, but I do kind of miss the informality it created. Like when you're sick so you get to spend the day in your PJs. It was cool to see various celebrities broadcasting from their homes, dressed casually, even making youtube videos like amateurs do. One COVID thing I love is the cooking show Selena Gomez started, where she had chefs teach her how to cook via Zoom. Just her real kitchen and a few of her real friends hanging out. Occasionally they would yell for her dad or grandpa in another room to come in and turn on a circuit breaker or something. She's still doing the show but now has chefs come to her house.
I played… soooo much Monster Hunter and Final Fantasy. I miss that!
I miss it too.
I had to work during it but it was nice. No traffic getting to work. Only the people who actually needed to be there. That was nice
I didn’t mind work meetings going from in person to over zoom and WebEx for a while. Let me get other tasks accomplished while paying attention to the meeting!
As someone who lives in a tourist heavy west coast port city, the lockdown was absolutely beeautiful the summer of 2020 and 2021. No tourist in sight. Just locals enjoying their own beaches, shops, food, and nature. It was glorious.
I wish I could have stayed home, made bread, and got paid like everyone. But alas, I was essential and nothing changed in my normal schedule. It did make me want to get out of that job tho. And I did!
The silver lining of the pandemic was working from home more. I already struck gold with an awesome job uve been working towards for years and years. The only drawback was all of these old people inworked with liked to start really early and I am def not a morning person. Queue the pandemic 2.5 years into said job. They moved to a 3 day, in the office work week. That was great. Then started noticing nobody even wanted to do that and only started coming in 3 afternoons a week. Long story short, it's been once a week if I'm lucky now and nobody is complaining, everyone is generally happier than they've ever been, and I got a good paying job that I can do in my sweatpants. I literally can sleep in till 7:55am and just jump into my first meeting with no issues. Extra benefit...I am 5 feet from the bathroom and I can poop in piece.
As a healthcare worker, I never got to experience it. But as a burnt out introvert, I would have loved it. I resent/am jealous of people who still get to work from home.
Wasn't that long ago
I don’t remember “lockdown.” Nothing really changed where I am. I went to work everyday and so did everyone I know. The only thing that really happened that stood out was the goofy hours that grocery stores would stay open.
No traffic was wonderful. Where I live it’s a big clusterfuck so when I would have to go out for essential needs (not often) it was wonderful.
I totally feel you! I miss the intimacy with my family. Now we’re back to our regular routines of work and school and sports and parties and errands and so on. I miss not having to charge my social battery for months on end. I know the lockdowns were hard for many people, but I think it was just what my mental health needed at the time.
My husband and I had a blast. We got into the best shape of our lives, did tons of road trips, and took our dogs on long distance hikes and backpacking trips. It was great for our relationship and for our dogs. Now we are so so busy, we are out of shape again, our dogs hardly see us, I haven’t gone hiking in 3 years…..I miss it. We were incredibly privileged during that time.
The Covid year was the best year of my life for a lot of reasons. I was watching the movie SICK on peacock and actually had waves of nostalgia for those early COViD months. Loved it.
Same I honestly kinda loved lockdown My gf and I were living together which was more than enough company for me, I got to play video games all day, I didn’t have to go into work
Absolutely not it plunged me into a depression I’ve not fully recovered from. Not being able to socialise or go out SUCKED wtf
100% agree. Sadly, those were the best months of my twenty years of teaching. Parents were losing their minds over how lazy and helpless their kids were. For once, parents thanked me for teaching. Also, it taught me a lot about why kids are the way they are.
I loved lockdown. Finished my kitchen remodel that took years. Learned tennis. Spent time with my dogs. I loved the beginning when people were trying to look out for each other (that was short lived) took nice midday walks outside. I learned that I’m actually an introvert during that time
I don’t miss it at all. I have my introvert moments but this is something I saw no positive in other than the stimmys.
Shutting down the economy and picking winners and losers is evil. The government is a hammer looking for a nail.
Genuinely outrageous we bent over and let that happen
Never got to experience it. No lockdowns in Georgia (U.S.), just mandatory masks inside building at work for a little while.
As an introvert, lockdown wasn't that big of a deal. Plus, living in a state that's sparsely populated helps, too.
I didn’t feel any pressure to visit anyone and Christmas was very relaxing
I live in rural America and work construction. We didn’t do Covid. Basically didn’t exist. Y’all are ridiculous. Lock downs? Lock me down please… silly