Looking towards the end of Lockdown Tag

Lockdown rules and restrictions have been lifting steadily in the UK. My COVID vacine is booked for tomorrow and it is feeling like after nearly two years of lockdown we are going to actually see the end of it. Everyone has had different reactions to the end of lockdown – there have been so many changes to the way various places run and even to the way people think and interact with each other. I hadn’t hugged anyone outside of the people living with me in a year. It’s been a while ride, but as we are looking forward to the end, I wanted to see how other people were feeling at the end of lockdown. I have created a little tag to reflect and share my thoughts, especially as I didn’t participate in the weekly feelings and thoughts about COVID.

How do you feel, generally, about the end of lockdown?

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I am so excited for the end of lockdown. Dann and I have been going out to more places to eat, we have been going to the cinema at least once a week and we have had friends over for our tabletop nights. It’s a bit weird not going to gaming events and seeing so many people in one place when we haven’t for a while, but I am really looking forward to normality and trying to keep positive. I also am looking forward to seeing my family, as we have been separated for quite some time. It’s going to be really good.

What are you most excited for?

I am always super excited about everything, if I am honest! But what I am most excited for is probably events. I use to (before lockdown) go to at least one gaming-related (work related) event every single month. Events, especially around something you enjoy, have such a good vibe to them. It’s full of people who all have the same interests as you, good food, good drinks, often interesting games and talks – I actually got so use to seeing all of my friends at various events that not seeing them every so often at some new location has been quite hard and really taken a toll on my ability to keep up with people’s lives.

Have you gone out to any restaurants / places that have started opening up? How was your experience?

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I have, as previously mentioned, been going out loads! Restaurants are basically the same as they always were, just with a little extra room. I’ve been a bit disappointed in some locations – like bowling for example – which have COVID restrictions but nobody to enforce them, but that just seems to be something that I have to get use too. Many people, now that the vaccine are rolling out, seem to no longer be wearing masks or keeping distance, which is a bit hard, but overall everywhere has been pretty positive when it comes to how they are coping with reopening – though I can’t wait until the time comes when I will no longer need to book ahead and can just do stuff at the drop of a hat.

What is something you’ve done in lockdown that you’ve really enjoyed?

I really loved joining digital cooking classes! It is so much more fun to be in your own kitchen – where you know where everything is and are less nervous. I think that doing digital classes on drink mixing and cooking is something I am going to continue to do. I have gone to a few cooking classes in person and I always find myself a bit lost in someone else’s kitchen. I also have subscribed to more subscription boxes, to keep a variety with things that we do at home.

If you have been working from home, are you excited to get back to your office?

I actually have never worked in an office – it’s always been me working at home. Dann also works at home, but as everyone seems to be getting back to their real jobs, we are finding that lots of people are working partial weeks at home! That seems quite interesting as working from home was always a not-so-normal thing before lockdown.

What is something that you are still not risking due to lockdown?

I am still really unsure of trains. We use to take trains all the time – but it just doesn’t feel like it’s worth the risk. Being in our car and driving around feels so much more safe.

Do you feel you have grown as a person during lockdown?

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I went through so many emotions during lockdown. At first, I was positive and excited, doing all sorts of fun new things! Then I was bored because I felt like there was nothing to do. Then I was pretty sad of lockdown – sick of having to be home all the time. There was a point when I wasn’t even going to the shops because they only allowed one person. There were a lot of super boring nights, lots of picnics in the garden, and lots of trying new things. I think I have grown so much as a person during lockdown and have become so much stronger, but it’s not something I want to do again.

Fingers crossed everything returns to normal!

There you have it. I have passed these questions onto a bunch of lovely bloggers – so do check out their content and see their posts.

Life with Amelia | Little Blog of Positivity | Daddilife | The Writing Greyhound | Land of Size | Tales of Belle | Hannah and the Twiglets | Planes, Trains and Buggies | Outnumbered by Gymnasts | The Geordie Grandma | Stapo’s Thrifty Life Hacks

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