Lockdown Life, Musings

A 2020 review post…is it even worth it??

by mydustyflipflops

I’m not sure it is!!

I’m tempted to just stick two fingers up to the year that was 2020 and look forward to 2021, which I hope will bring better things.

I’m tired. As I’m sure everyone is and I think we can all agree this year has taken it’s toll physically and emotionally.

However, maybe it’s worth a look back at the good, bad and the downright ugly that this year has been. It certainly has to be one of the most bizarre years that I’ve ever experienced.

The pandemic has impacted us all, it’s meant global upheaval to the extent that I have never imagined I would see in my lifetime. It’s affected us all, whether that’s because we have suffered from the virus, or know and lost others who have, whether we’ve lost jobs, or had to move to working from home, or just had to carry on working out there despite the risks. We’ve been prohibited from seeing our loved ones and social distancing and mask wearing has become the norm.

Some have found the respite from ‘normal’ life a blessing, enjoying the solitude, the pressures of our modern lives reduced for a time. Others have found it a curse, struggling intensely with the lack of social contact.

Work life has been turned on its head, here in the UK huge swathes of the population were suddenly forced to turn their homes into offices, others were immediately furloughed and found themselves ‘on leave’ effectively for who knows how long. Again, each scenario bringing it’s own pros and cons.

I was one of the ones who suddenly found themselves on the sofa using my own ancient laptop to try to carry on with my job. I will admit at the time I was a teeny bit jealous of those being furloughed – paid time off, that is the dream! But it came at a cost and anxiety was a frequent friend to those in that situation, as was the threat of redundancy at the end of it and I am forever grateful that I still have my job. It is heartbreaking to see the devastation that is being wreaked on so many businesses and livelihoods everywhere.

I had always wanted to be able to work from home…but I never imagined that this would be how it would come about.

I had returned in the middle of March from a month long trip to Australia and Cambodia on the Friday. I went back into work on the Monday and then on Tuesday, we were told that we should start working from home after that…talk about a whirlwind! And then we went into full lockdown on the following Monday.

Oh to be back on the beach in Cambodia

As with everything I have learnt that working from home is not all plain sailing. I miss my two large monitors that I have in the office and the space of my desk. Working on a laptop isn’t ideal, but I’ve managed to set up a small work station at home and love the flexibility of being at home and not having to drag myself into the office everyday. Being able to do little things, like putting a load of washing on in the middle of the day…who knew it could be so life changing haha!

This year has been extraordinary for so many reasons. I’m not sure that I will fully understand the impact that it’s had on me, or the world in general, for many years. I am trying to find the positives, to learn from this experience, but I must admit with the sudden turn things have taken here, with this new strain of the virus, it’s all starting to feel quite gloomy again.

However, as I look back at this weird old year, I have realised a few things (not all of them particularly life changing!):

I am definitely an introvert!

Working from home does relieve the pressure somewhat, it’s been a learning curve, but it does make me feel like I have a bit more control over my time.

I am usually eager to get away and although sometimes the urge to be sat on a beach in South East Asia is excruciatingly strong, I have learnt to appreciate my immediate surroundings more. I love my local park and haven’t yet grown tired of my walks and very slow jogs around it!

My partner and I really can live and work together!!

I can go six months without getting my hair done…although that has been easy as I haven’t been seeing anyone!

And I am 100% grey under that hair dye!!

When I do finally return to the office, having to wear proper clothes and shoes (instead of slippers!) whilst I work is going to be a wrench.

It’s ok that I haven’t spent the pandemic crafting, learning a language or baking my body weight in cakes every day! I have been mainly working and trying to keep emotionally stable throughout this whole thing, with varying degrees of success with the latter.

Of course, it’s been a tough one and unfortunately it seems it’s going to get worse before it gets better here. I expect that we will be going back into full lockdown in the UK again soon and I am prepared to hunker down for the first of part of 2021 and just try to ride this out. I am grateful I am able to do that.

I hope 2021 brings some good news and improvement to the whole situation and that we are able to learn and build on our experience during 2020.

So, that just leaves me to say thank you.

Thank you to my friends and family who I haven’t seen throughout this time, but who have always been there, with words of advice, a shoulder to cry on and funny memes when needed! They’ve been the ones who have gotten me this far.

Thank you to those who have been making sure life can go on for us all. Those working tirelessly to help keep us safe, looking after us when we are ill, keeping the deliveries coming to our doors, stocking the supermarket shelves and producing vaccines in record time to try to help us get through this as quickly as possible.

And thank you to you! Thank you for reading, commenting and your continued support here on my teeny tiny piece of the internet! I know it’s been a tough year for us all and will be a difficult holiday period for many, but we have made it this far, that is something we should be proud of and thankful for.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you and your families stay safe and well.

33 thoughts on “A 2020 review post…is it even worth it??”

  4. Well said. And it’s probably a good thing you haven’t been baking cakes every day. If you had, you would have had to dedicate a whole paragraph in your post to the enormous weight gain and tooth decay! Merry Christmas from across the pond!

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  5. Good to hear from you.
    Definitely a weird year.
    Some good, some bad.
    Like you, I enjoy working from home, although some people are doing whatever they can to drag me back to the office. I hate the thought of being there full-time.
    Not being able to travel is definitely a tough one for me. Probably the toughest.
    But, once we are able to do it, it will be that much sweeter!
    I just worry about all those places that are dependant on tourism…
    Merry Christmas!

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    1. Yes, it’s been a mixed bag hasn’t it. I feel the same about WFH, I really don’t want to go back into the office full-time…although the way things are at the moment, that looks like it could be a long way off! Yes, not being able to travel is a difficult one, but it’s teaching me to try to be still…and to try to be ok with it! I agree, though once we can travel again, it’s going to be amazing, but the world will probably look quite different. Merry Christmas to you, I hope you have a lovely festive season!

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  6. I’m glad this year is nearly over but I don’t have much faith that we are going to see improvements in 2021. Travel will still be prohibited I think, as will mixing in crowds, and wearing masks in public. But it is what it is and moaning isn’t going to help. I’ve learned this year that although I miss my family more than I ever thought I would, I can manage with just my own company. I have also learned that in some instances I actually prefer solitude and that even telephone calls can be intrusive. I have also learned that I don’t follow the pack and I haven’t baked bread or cakes, embroidered, knitted or crocheted, or even made attempts at learning a language – although I did think about it. Instead I slobbed around, thoroughly at home in comfy shoes and clothes but managed to keep my weight down. Howzat?

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    1. That is great going!! I am right there with you slobbing around in comfy clothes 🙂 I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be dressed up! I fear you may be right about 2021, we are certainly not heading in the right direction again. Yesterday afternoon, we were told we will effectively be locking down again for the next few months to try to get a handle on things. These new strains that have been discovered a bit scary. But we do what we need to do. I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

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  8. Sorry it’s taken me so long to get here. Life seems to have overtaken me in the last couple of days. I’m glad you’ve managed to adapt, and cope with the situation, and I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas. In the end it must get better. I hope it’s soon 🙂 🙂

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    1. No need to apologise at all! Everyone has lives to lead away from here 🙂 I hope all is well over there and you had a good Christmas. Things have been feeling very gloomy here in recent days, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel with the news the Oxford vaccine has finally been approved today. Here’s hoping it has an impact and 2021 will be much better! Happy New Year to you!

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  9. It’s been a tough year for so many people hasn’t it? Sounds like you have adapted and dealt with the changes very well and I have to agree that I think the next few months here in the UK will be as difficult as ever. Hopefully you managed to have a good Christmas though. Here’s to a much better New Year.

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    1. It has hasn’t it and it’s been feeling very gloomy recently indeed. Hopefully with the Oxford vaccine now getting approval, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I hope you both have had a nice Christmas and I wish you all the very best for the New Year!

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  10. Hi! Nice to read a blog post from you. Understandable that it’s a tough situation with many challenges to boot. Glad to read you haven’t completely lost your marbles, hehe. And I hear you on the urge for travelling…we will again, just gotta hang in tight a while longer. We can do this!

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    1. Thank you! It’s been a very difficult year hasn’t it! Yes, I’m just about keeping sane haha. Hope everything is going ok with you and you and your family are keeping safe. Here’s hoping some travel may be on the agenda in 2021. I’m not expecting things to be back to normal, but it would be lovely to be able to get out and about a bit more!! Just got to be patient for a little while longer. I wish you a very Happy New Year and here’s hoping 2021 brings better days 🙂

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  11. What a lovely post, I absolutely agree with you that this pandemic has affected all of our lives in different ways. During the first lockdown I worked all the way through and it was hard work as very few of us were doing the jobs that usually many more would have done. However I felt grateful for the routine and that I knew my job was secure. This time round I have been furloughed and although I am enjoying my time being at home, there is the worry of job insecurity. I am glad that WFH is working well for you and I am sure when this is all over hopefully you will have a smooth transition into going back to work (even if in your slippers!)That beach in Cambodia looks absolutely beautiful 😍

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  12. This is one of the best posts I’ve read about the past year! I’m glad you were able to get a nice trip in before the world went crazy, and I love that you acknowledge that both the virus and the lock downs have hurt people (I get so tired of hearing, “staying home is no big deal!” It is if you’re worried about losing your job, your house, your sanity, etc…) And then you acknowledge that we’ve all gained some gifts from all this mess too. Because we have. We all know things about ourselves we never knew before, we’ve found strength we didn’t know we had, and we have figured out what our values really are. And that is a gift!

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words, that really does mean a lot! It’s such a difficult time and I think everyone is having their own unique experience of this pandemic. Some people will struggle with things that others will find easier. I agree, it is teaching us things about ourselves and that’s no bad thing at all. I feel extremely lucky that we were able to get our trip in just before everything really kicked off. I might be climbing the walls a bit more than I currently am if we hadn’t! It’s been a year of ups and downs for sure, but hopefully we will all come out of this stronger!

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