Do you feel like you lost a year to the pandemic?

     

For us it has not been lost, just different.

So much family closeness. I can't regret or bemoan that - it has been a gift.

No I don't feel 2020 was a lost year.  Sure some things were different, but a lot of great things happened for our family too.  Like all years we had the good and the bad.   

I do feel that way, exacerbated by the fact that my breast cancer diagnosis came in January 2020, so I lost time to that whole process, overlapped by covid. It was a year of misery, capped by my dad's death in December.

2021, although we're still isolated, feels like a new start in some ways. 2020 feels like some weird wormhole in my life that I'm finding my way out of.

I'd say kinda. I lost 2019, DH and my Dad passed w/in 3 months of each other and I don't remember a lot about that year. 2020, I was understaffed at work and working a sh*t ton. So I would have lost the year either way, just was easier to do it from home vs. the office.

This is exactly how I feel towards my grandparents. They have good health and a lot of life left in them mentally and physically, so I cannot wait for them to get back out there so they can enjoy what time they have left.

hug, dear Mystie

I think I was *fine* (not really fine, but at least somewhat coping, and feeling like while this year was crazy, different, stressful, ect, ect...I was making it through) Then came winter and snow. It reminds me of how much I hate living in MN. I feel very trapped and stressed out and although I try and embrace winter, to look out my window at the snow and ice is just so damn depressing. I know all these people that were so upset that we might have a green Christmas and I was like, "So what? I would love not to see any stupid snow this year." I just want so badly to be warm.

Thank you. I've had years as difficult as this -- when my husband was paralyzed and the doctors couldn't figure it out. I juggled taking care of two young kids, being his caregiver, worrying if he was going to survive, and going into the hospital three plus times a week for treatments and appointments for over three years. That time really taught me to look for the things in life that were most important to me. I found that, for me, it was in the relationships I have with my family and friends. And those haven't gone away this year. I've learned to deal with anxiety, loss, grief, and disappointment. It's difficult, but those are also things that help me grow and figure out how to deal with tough situations.

It's definitely difficult for almost all of us.  

I see my kids working a lot, then when not working, dealing with kids at home for school. No social release. Just work and then more work.

Single friends feeling very isolated and alone.

Older folks afraid to go out, depressed to stay home.

And I know of at least 5 people who have passed in the last year for whom no funeral has yet been held. 

Yeah, it's definitely a lost year.

No, not at all. Life very much moved on for me, and it is better in many ways. I changed jobs, slowed down my volunteer activities, and found love. Covid forced me to focus on what was important.

DD and I spent tons of time together during her junior and senior years of high school, a time when she would have been more focused on other things. I am very sad that we had to give up her marching band competition season, but it did give us back our Saturdays during the fall.

Dating during covid allowed me to date in a way that was very relationship focused - there weren’t distractions of other people, other activities, or even what to do. We talked, shared meals, took walks and bike rides, and enjoyed outdoor vacations - we were just together. I feel incredibly lucky that I said “yes” to the first date despite my better judgement and after saying “no” to other requests to throw caution into the wind. My gut said to go for it.

I also focused - out of necessity - on just a very small circle of friends, one of whom we lost to Covid. Even then, I only saw my friends occasionally at the most important times - two intentionally socially distanced gatherings, an outdoor wedding, an outdoor funeral - and that has been really stinky.

I could never consider it a lost year as time is simply too precious. I'm enough of a Pollyanna that I'll always find the good in a situation even if I have to acknowledge the bad.

Our personal situation has been pretty good throughout this although I'm keenly aware that's not true for everyone. My first grandbaby was hands-down the highlight of the year! And although our 19 y/o is missing out on living on campus at a major university, we have thoroughly enjoyed having him here in the house still. He's working and going to tech (junior college basically). The experience is teaching him lessons that will serve him well in life even though he'd have traded it for 'normalcy' if he could. My 95 y/o mama is still very healthy. There's just a lot I'm personally very grateful for.

Yes. 100%. As do many of my single, retired friends.

As a fellow pea put it earlier..... difficult and different, but not wasted.

My husband and I, and our families, are very lucky.

We're healthy (knock on wood), and although I haven't worked since last March, we are okay financially (also knock on wood ).

What has been really hard for me is the fact that I haven't seen my parents and sisters in Germany for two years now.
My Mom turned 80 last June, and I was supposed to fly home to attend her big birthday party. Obviously that didn't happen (both my trip and the party).

Other travel plans had to be cancelled, as well.
We had planned a trip to Colorado with friends to see a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater.

I didn't get to celebrate my 50th birthday with the big party we had planned.
This weekend, my husband and I drove out to the bakery where he had ordered my surprise birthday cake almost a year ago.
Instead of picking up a cake, we spent the down payment on cookies that we delivered to family members.

I haven't seen my FIL in several months.
I developed anxiety about leaving the house and being in public.

But I also saw more of friends and family, even though it was "only" via video chat.
My parents and I have been skyping ever sunday for years.
Now we skype every sunday and wednesday.
I do regular video chats with my friends and sisters in Germany, with my workout buddies, with my "old" workout friends, with co-workers, and also with "other" friends.
I also see my husband a lot more than pre-pandemic.
Our work schedules were exact opposite, so we used to only see each other on the weekend.
Now he gets up a bit early, and we get to spend some quality time together before he leaves for work.

So yes, we did miss out on a lot of experiences and get togethers etc ( October and November used to be packed with parties every weekend).

But I had the opportunity to deepen friendships and relationships.
And let's not forget that a lot of us found out hard truths about some family members and friends.
While it was hard to sort of end relationships that I've had for years or decades, it felt liberating and refreshing, and it gave me a sense of relief, to know that these toxic people are no longer part of my life.