Time for another rambling post about lockdown, but I love writing a good honest ramble! We have been living in lockdown like a majority of the world right now for a good couple of months, and it has been a pretty strange time for us all. It hasn't been easy for any of us in different respects, we are all in different situations and trying to get through things the best we can. It's been a weird time, but it is safe to say that we have all learnt a few lessons, and today I've decided to list (ramble) a few lessons I have learnt since being in lockdown!
I would also like to add that after Boris Johnson's extremely confusing announcement last night, I will be remaining in lockdown and living like I have done for the past month to avoid any further spread of the virus, and would suggest that we all do the same. I have my own personal views on his speech, and I am not going to dilvulge too much about that, especially on other social media forms... I've deliberately been avoiding any social media form / the news for that reason as just scrolling through it all makes me angry and frustrated!
This is the age old saying of "you don't know what you've got until it has gone" in action. And for many of us, we aren't able to isolate in lockdown with everyone that we love, we have spent months away from those we love to help contain the spread of the virus. We are doing the right thing, and seeing those family and friends once this is all over will be a very overwhelming and happy time for us all, and it will give us a new perspective in life to not take any moment for granted, including the freedom to actually travel!
For my personal circumstances, I've been working from home for around 10 weeks now and I live with my boyfriend Jordan. Many people may assume we are spending lots of time together however we are both still working, so it is like pre-lockdown, except I am working at home and Jordan is working longer hours. I am so proud of him for going out and working throughout this time, and being a key essential worker. Considering the fact I live with a key worker, who has been going out every day to work (apart from the two week furlough period) it can feel extremely lonely and isolating being by yourself in a house for 10+ hours most days with hardly any human contact. I have had a lot of alone time and it really does make you think about everything, and at times it can make you overthink too! It hasn't exactly been easy, however I am so grateful to those who have made it that bit easier, it's made me realise how appreciative I am to have such supportive people in my life. It's also made me appreciate Jordan more as well, as I can't wait until the evening time arrives and I can actually see another human being!
I am so appreciative and grateful to have an incredible support system of family and friends. I live with Jordan so obviously I speak and see him every day. I speak to my parents every day. I speak to my grandparents every few days. I speak to a couple of work friends almost every day, which helps me get through the work days. I speak to my main group of friends every once in a while for a quiz / game / bingo night. I speak to Jord's side of the family once a week when they hold a quiz night. I speak to a couple of my closest friends very regularly, and our conversations last for hours (5+ hours), usually whilst we are playing Animal Crossing. I speak to another group of friends at least once every two weeks. I speak to the work lot once every two weeks on our virtual pub lunch. I speak to Jordan's friends whenever he is playing by shouting down tbe Xbox headset.
We may be apart and we may not communicate every single day, however I am so grateful for all the family (okay... they have to put up with me) and friends that I have in my life!
There have actually been many positives that have come out of being in lockdown. Taking some inspiration from the words of the wonderful Matt Haig... We used to live in a society which revolved around work. People's lives were dominated by long working hours, stressed out crowds, mass consumerism and the worry of an increasing amount of global warming. Ever since the lockdown started, it was like everything had paused. The crowds dispersed, a good majority of people were furloughed and the air is getting less polluted.
The main point of the above that it is sometimes beneficial to look at things a little differently. When we reminisce or look back on past memories, we tend to have a sense of nostalgia which may make things seem that bit more better and happier than they actually were at the time. Although many people in lockdown currently are struggling with various aspects (including myself), it is important to remember that life pre-lockdown wasn't exactly a sunshine and rainbows utopia.
So many people have more time, an unexpected amount of time. More time to focus on themselves and do whatever they want... something that most people used to complain about at some point pre-lockdown. It's a time to focus on YOU. Time to work on whatever makes you happy and comfortable during this time. You can write a novel. You can sort out the kitchen cupboards and bake a cake. You can paint a picture. You can watch the birds in the sky, walk around your village exploring areas you've never been to before or go duckling hunting (my preference... they are just too adorable) I have definitely become much more comfortable with who I am as a person and I am not complaining one bit!
This one doesn't exactly apply to us as I have been working from home over the whole lockdown period, as well as Jordan who was sent on furlough which should have lasted until the end of May but after his boss came back to work after self-isolating himself, his furlough period ended after just over a week. Therefore we don't have much free time. We are extremely fortunate in respect to our work, as we are both still working we are receiving full pay and we have both been assured that our jobs will be safe during this time.
It is always good to look on the brighter side of things!
There seems to be two types of people during this lockdown, people who have an excessive amount of time due to being furloughed or for other reasons:
Type A: Those who are "productive" and seem to be doing everything and trying out everything and anything during these times.
Type B: Those who are spending their time mainly in their PJ's, not doing a lot, binge watching films and TV shows, and eating snacks.
I want to make it perfectly clear that however you are spending your time during lockdown, it is okay to do what you want to do and whatever makes you happy. There is no shame in spending this time not doing a lot. We are in a very uncertain time right now, living through a global pandemic therefore do whatever makes you happy and comfortable within yourself. It's definitely a time for self-discovery and it's a time to put yourself and your own mental wellbeing first.
I would definitely say I am more type B during the weekends (although I am sorting, cleaning and decluttering the house every weekend at some point). I have no shame to admit I spend a good majority of my free time at the weekends in PJ's playing Animal Crossing! However I think if I was furloughed and had excessive amounts of free time, I would want to be more productive as I get bored very easily especially with Jordan being at work!
From a financial aspect, we have hardly spent any money since going into lockdown. Obviously we both still pay bills and stuff, but I have no regrets about being in our own little place during lockdown, despite being incredibly lonely most days. Only regret is not being with my family or seeing my family during this time, I miss them like crazy and I look forward to the day when we are properly reunited rather than waving from windows! If I was still in my family home, I would never get any work done, plus I would not be seeing Jordan at all during lockdown even if we were socially distanced due to the fact his dad is part of the most vulnerable to this virus. I think there are both positives and negatives to wherever you are spending your lockdown time, and your lockdown situation as well. It isn't easy for any of us.
I drive Jordan to and from work every day and it has worked out around £40 for over a month's worth of petrol. We walk to the supermarket which is a five minute walk away and the precautions are strict in terms of social distancing, and we get our food shop from there. We didn't have takeaway for over a good month, we decided to try to live without it for a good amount of time which was extremely healthy for our bank accounts. We have barely purchased anything online either. At the start of April, I placed an order with Truffleshuffle, and over a month later I bought a vintage shirt from my favourite independent vintage shop online as a treat to myself but apart from that, I haven't spent anything else. I am going to treat myself soon as it was around four weeks ago since I placed my last online order... I just don't feel the need to purchase anything, I am a hoarder and have enough stuff as it is. Jordan has only purchased a pair of steel capped toed boots which is an essential for him to work as his other ones are falling apart. We don't really need to purchase anything else due to our circumstances, we are both still working long hours most days and we have a decent amount of things to do at home anyway, therefore we don't really need to purchase more stuff to keep us entertained.
We are fortunate in the respect that we were earning enough to pay bills, buy essentials and save a decent amount of our salaries before lockdown... we wouldn't have taken the plunge and decide to move out if we couldn't survive and save. However even though we are still spending proportions on bills and food, we are able to make even more substantial savings during this time. We never booked anything big over the summer, therefore we don't need to try to get a refund for anything big. We only booked a few weekend trips away where we have received full refunds already. We don't have any future plans apart from The Killers rescheduled for 2021, as well as our Christmas experience present from my family which we will book hopefully at some point next year.. but I have a list of things I plan to do at some point once lockdown is over and I look forward to doing them, as well as having sufficient funds for them!
I've also been sorting out the house, cleaning and decluttering a lot more on the weekends, and we've realised how much stuff we don't really need, and I've also realised how much stuff I actually have! I'm not going to become a minimalist any time soon, however it has made me realise that I do love treating myself at times to material items I don't necessarily need or really desire. I am pretty good with my spending habits anyway, but once we get back to normal, I am definitely going to evaluate my spending habits that bit more!
My skin is in the best condition ever, and I thank the nine weeks without wearing any make up for that. It was in pretty decent condition anyway, but it is getting that bit better during lockdown! All I've been using is a couple of skincare products and it has really been doing wonders. My hair is also in pretty good condition, I'm trying to leave it for longer without washing my hair and it's actually making the condition of my hair even better. As I am a hoarder of skincare and hair products, I haven't had to purchase any since lockdown began, which is a bonus of being a hoarder!
Since not wearing make up for over nine weeks, I've realised I don't necessarily need to hoard so much make up. I absolutely loved collecting the beauty boxes that I used to receive in the post, however I was receiving too many products and I wasn't using them all in good time. I love make up, but I am not a beauty guru and never have been, I don't need to wear make up just to make me feel good inside... Spending over nine weeks without the slightest motivation to wear any make up has proved that! Therefore I definitely need to have a make up declutter at some point, I have way too many products I just don't use, I have way too many products that I am "yet to try" from beauty boxes and I've probably got quite a few of expired make up products kicking around!
I've definitely embraced my more natural side since being in lockdown, and I've really enjoyed it. I really like not wearing make up and wearing my comfy clothes, it is definitely a big look for me right now. I haven't struggled with sleep at all since lockdown began, I've always been a pretty good sleeper (i.e. one of those annoying people who falls asleep within five minutes) and I actually have a nap(s) every free day that I have! I've restricted my drinking to only Friday's, where I will open up a few Kopparbergs either with the virtual pub chat, or in the evening. I really like to keep a clear head whilst being at home, it makes me feel better inside... I've never been a massive home drinker and I'm not going to start now. I save the drinks for when I am out again... it has been an extremely good detox for me this year so far! We've not been eating takeaways (we have had two takeaways since the end of March) we have just been cooking our own food every day, and maintaining a decent routine. I haven't had a fizzy drink in around ten weeks (unless you count cider, although I wouldn't class that as fizzy like Coke or Fanta), I only drink water, milk, smoothies and juices. During this time, I am not dieting, nor am I doing much exercise... I've been out for jogs across the field twice and almost died... but survived to tell the tale of how unfit I actually am which is another lockdown lesson I have learnt but that is not changing any time soon!
One of the only aspects which I have struggled with is being physically alone for multiple hours of the majority of days. If I didn't have work, I don't know what I would be like being alone and not working... I would have definitely lost the plot by now. I drop Jordan off at work early hours of the morning, and I don't pick him up until later evening. I am alone for most of my days from around 7am until 6pm. Which is a long time to be alone for most days, and it has definitely made me appreciate him more in the evenings when he arrives home! Because of this, I would say I have partially experienced what it is like to live alone during lockdown. I was okay at first, I am one of those people who enjoy my own company at times, and as I had work to keep me distracted, it was fine. Although when you have continuous multiple working days of not seeing anyone, nor necessarily speaking to anyone as well... which then turn to weeks, and months... it can become incredibly isolating, frustrating and lonely. You have so much more time to reflect on yourself and your own life, and appreciate your loved ones even more especially those who stay in regular contact and we maintain the constant contact throughout this time, as it becomes a mutual support system. I definitely can lose my motivation to work at times when I am in an empty house, at times I can get emotional when I don't hear from many people at all throughout the day whilst being in an empty house as it makes you question if you really still exist... or if you hear from quite a few people, it makes you even more emotional because it makes you miss being with them more. It's a lose-lose situation... either way I am emotional wreck at times but that is who I am as a person!
However I am very aware there are bigger things going on in the world, I could be in a worse situation to what I am in now and luckily I have my family and friends who cheer me up when I have those down moments. Although I do have a reasonably big support group of friends and family which I do speak to a lot on various occasions, most days I normally try to speak to an average of three to four people per day. And it works, it helps and I'm trying to get through it the best I can... like we all are!
Bit of another ramble about the lockdown situation however being in this situation has impacted everyone's life right now in one way or another. It's not been easy but we are all getting through the best we can!
Stay home, we can do this.
So yeah, it's all good...
Amy
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