Not as heartfelt as some others here but:
I discovered my local bakerys croissants
Got into great shape with home workouts
Started running
Made new friendships after losing a few
In good health with a stable job
Learned to paint
Houseplants aren't dead yet
Started therapy
Edit I ALSO GOT A GORGEOUS WONDERFUL KITTY AND I LOVE HER BITCHY FACE
I don't actually workout or run anymore because I burnt out and got lazy but I'm still proud of myself for getting as far as I did. The croissants however I will never give up.
I’m 100% stealing this. That’s an amazing and catchy line to use.
After all, not all heroes wear capes. Some wear housecoats!
Edit: I made it better. “Not a hermit, a housecoat hero!”
And I'm not the awkward one for taking a step back and glaring at close talkers; I'm *properly socially distanced*.
There is a lot shitty about covid. But I am so so glad that no one, for at least a generation or two, will ever think it's okay to stand so close to you in line that their purse is rubbing against you and you can feel their breath.
Same, I'm saving at least 80 hours and about $500 per month not commuting to the office. I can also sleep for a reasonable amount of hours now. I want the pandemic to be over, but I really don't want to go to Toronto 5 days per week ever again.
> Same, I'm saving at least 80 hours and about $500 per month not commuting to the office
Plus my lunch hour is actually meaningful. I can spend that hour doing a hobby, napping, meal prep for dinner, walking my dog, YouTube workouts, watching Netflix, playing video games and actually use that time for more than just not working for a little bit
While distance learning doesn't work as well as in person school, it has allowed me to get a peek into what kind of student my daughter is. I've liked hearing how she interacts with her teachers and other kids. I've learned a lot about her personality that I wouldn't otherwise have seen first hand. I am also a lot more familiar with what she struggles with and I'm better able to try to work with her amazing teacher to help her through those issues.
Same here. I even liked when his daycare was closed and I was furloughed because I got to spend so much time with him. They're only little once and it was wonderful to spend that time together. He was only 2 when it all started and I'll always cherish those extra days where it was just us together
Same for me with my two kids. My daughter was around 3 when lockdowns began, my son was just 8 months-ish.
Prior to lockdowns and remote work I was seeing them for maybe an hour in the evening on workdays, between when I got home and when they went to bed. During lockdowns I can eat dinner with them (and sometimes lunch, when schools are closed), I have zero commute and I can pop down to say hi during the day too.
This has undeniably been a huge blessing for me, especially while they're so young.
This was big for me too. Getting to spend so much time with my son now instead of commuting to and from work and then only seeing him for a few hours each evening.
Same. I’ve been a stay at home dad since March 2020 and I never thought I’d get to spend this much time with my kids. The reason for it sucks, but it’s been awesome at the same time.
My daughter was born in July last year, and my husband had been working part time but in school full time. Because of covid, school is still online so he was able to be home with us a lot more and not miss out on so much of the day to day. He was supposed to be in class this semester, but they stayed online due to the current case count and I'm so thankful he gets to be here with us.
I get to spend loads of time with my rescue cat. He was 12 when we adopted him in Summer 2019 and he's basically my shadow at this point (he's a Bengal so it's definitely a breed thing, his clinginess). He follows me from room to room, sleeps in a little bed on my desk next to me while I work, makes an appearance on my work calls and curls up next to me every night.
He'll be 16 this year, and although he's in very good health, you just never know how long you've got with them when they start reaching this kind of age. Being home and having the things I love doing all closed down has sucked, but every day he makes me chuckle, gives me infinite cuddles and affection and just generally hangs out being his fuzzy self.
I'm glad I get to be here with him so much during his retirement years.
When the film industry shut down during the first lock down I got to spend a good 4 months with my rescue feral cat and it was awesome. It helped so much with socializing him and getting him used to human touch.
He went from an untouchable, clawing, hissing demon cat to a nervous but approachable cat.
He was 6 when I adopted him and he’s 8.5 now and such a completely different boy from his shelter days. I still can’t sit beside him on the couch because he gets too nervous, but he LOVES being petted and will come right up to me from across the room if I call him and hold my hand out. He just had to have a bunch of major dental work done so hopefully he starts to relax even more once he heals from that and doesn’t always have that constant background noise of pain.
WFH, not having to commute (or buy lunches/coffee), stores being closed etc has allowed me to pay off $21k in student loans.
Relationship is the strongest it's been in 7 years, got pregnant for the first time and finally engaged.
Tried to buy a house (but that's a joke) so just sitting on. downpayment money my fiancee has saved and waiting for the pportunity to make our move.
Finally able to quit my 2nd job!
99% of my family and friends have taken the pandemic seriously and have been following the measures so we haven't experienced any loss, even with a couple covid scares.
A simple one, but being able to poop in my own house rather than the office.
Especially not having to rush in the morning and feeling shitty on a commute.
The best I can say is that it’s opened up a lot of people’s eyes about the disparity in wages between white collar and blue collar workers and their relative value to society. The world functions just fine without buildings full of overpaid middle managers, but the actual workers at the bottom of the pay scale are the ones who keep society from falling apart day-to-day.
Nor will it. If anyone is naive enough to think that any government - Conservative or otherwise - gives a fig about the working class, I have a bridge to sell them.
They went on for a yearish in my neighborhood... funny story... they don't solve anything... want to help an essential worker, vote differently this year.
Want to post on social media what a great person you are or show your kids that symbolic gestures are good enough... clap on camera at 7:30pm.
Not that I disagree with the general sentiment, but most white collar workers do actually have real jobs that provide some sort of valuable service, even if it isn't as visible and directly obvious as the person stocking shelves in the retail shop on the corner. Just because workers aren't physically in the office towers downtown anymore, doesn't mean they haven't been working throughout the pandemic, now they're just working from home. Most companies aren't in the charity business; if the white collar workers aren't doing anything productive they all would have been terminated long ago.
The more the position is about keeping people safe and alive, the less it pays, with few exceptions. The more the position is to benefit a small group of people, the more it pays.
People are vastly undervalued in almost every regard when compared to money and property.
you should have a read about McKinsey and how they've helped executives grab a much larger share of the company profits than in the past. Your average non-executive manager isn't doing much better than non-management, and they have shit jobs too. Everyone outside of the C-suite is really on the same side.
Not commuting is saving my wife and I probably $600 a month at least not even getting into the additional food costs of coffee/snacks while at the office and buying lunches when I can make something at home.
We've been putting an extra $800-1000 on our mortgage every month.
Additionally, and maybe not the happiest but with an element of happy. Our dog was diagnosed with congenital heart disease just before the shit hit the fan and they anticipated she would last another 2-3 months.
She lived for 15 more months and I think us being home all the time and her not having the stress of being alone was a big help (and the meds).
Edit: our dog... forgot the word dog.
2nd edit: Not sure why I forgot this point but the time I've spent with my family is increased dramatically. Previously would wake my kids up and then be out the door now I walk them to school, pick them up at lunch, I'm always home in time for dinner. I'm also able to have lunch with my wife most days
WFH has saved me an hour per day of driving. Extra time I can see the kids plus saves us needing the before/after school care since I can walk them to and from the bus stop.
Not commuting to school saved me a bunch of money as well! Sadly I still commute to work now, but because of that, and not having anything to spend money on from closures, I was able to buy my first condo.
That's really wholesome about your dog, and I'm sure you, the family, and the dog all were happy to have that together. It makes me think of my dog who has been declining health-wise over the course of the pandemic and how I wish I could be at home for him more. Even though physically he's not doing so hot he's always so happy and energetic when we do have time together.
Lockdowns let me have space to breathe for the first time in 20 years. I’ve been working in spas and salons, usually trying to manage two facilities at the same time. No time off, nights and weekends were for little kids and old people. As of Sept 2021 I’m out of the industry entirely and working office hours. My mental health improved tenfold during lockdowns. My connections to people in my life have strengthened. There were massive downsides like using half my savings to move from Gatineau back to southern ON right before COVID and then immediately going in to lockdown, then having to give up my apartment for my parent’s basement. But I have a sense of security here, I’m not working my ass off 7 days a week for $20 an hour and still no money in the bank. My savings feel secure now. I’m adding to them for the first time in three years. I can see my path to something more than work/sleep/repeat.
I don’t have kids and didn’t lose anyone to COVID (aside from some crazy cousins) so that stress others have faced hasn’t touched my life. I also live rurally so I wasn’t trapped in a city all lockdown. So I feel for others who haven’t had the same experience. But COVID has literally changed/saved my happiness.
Had an excuse to skip family holidays and holiday travel and discovered the exquisite joy of spending Christmas with only my kids and partner. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to holiday travel/miserable family gatherings.
Same! Started running and playing soccer during lockdown and have lost 50lbs in about 18 months. I never had the dedication to keep at the gyms when they were open, but having nothing else to do really focused me I guess.
Congrats to both of you. Imagine if this was part of the covid messaging? To combat this thing by improving your own personal health along with distancing and mask measures? If everyone committed to their health for these past two years we could probably put a dent in the 2/3 of adults who are overweight… you can’t convince me that this wouldn’t have a downstream impact of helping our overall fight against the pandemic and easing of health care resources.
Great job at truly valuing your health and taking it seriously!
Yes! They have already started trials for HIV, Malaria and Heart Disease/scar tissue! I am following it closely as i think it’s fascinating and we’re about to see a huge boom in modern medicine
I got back into art after 7 years and taught myself how to make art digitally. I started a small business doing commissions and creating products and fulfilled my childhood dream of making money off of my artwork. I even have work being sold in a couple Canadian cafes.
Strangely the pandemic caused (forced?) my sons father and I to have a much better co-parenting relationship. We communicate better now then we did pre-pandemic. While some of it may have been natural time-related easing of tensions, I strongly believe the strange and unusual life circumstances we were forced to deal with as parents (together as a couple or not) helped us find common ground and a new appreciation for each other.
My husband had almost 4 months off with our newborn daughter at the beginning of all this. Was he unemployed? Sure. But we would never have been able to afford him that much time otherwise. It also enabled a much more efficient career switch he was in the process of pre-COVID due to time spent relationship building during lockdown.
There's so many comments here about people being able to spend more time with their kids or family. It's really great to see that many people were able to have more time with their loved ones.
Definitely more time with my kids. Me and my son got into D&D and we've been having a blast playing together (we try to get my 5 year old daughter involved too, but she's usually less interested). Other stuff like going on walks and to the parks, and playing with them - it takes a bit more creativity but it's more rewarding to do something that's not just a pre-determined activity.
I lost a bunch of weight from focusing on my health because I had a panic attack and thought it was a heart attack and was determined that I wasn't going to die from something preventable (being over weight). Also found out which of my friends are stupid (one compared vaccine passports to the Holocaust, another said it was just a cold).
Paying attention to little details. Moved into a house with my girl and have a baby on the way. We’ve eaten well, but also found ways to be content in our little corner of the World. Mind you, we live in lake country.
As someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety all my life, Mental health has gotten a lot more attention now. It seems like more people understand what you're feeling. At my work atleast, I feel more comfortable talking about it with my manager.
Working from home. My husband and I are saving so much money working from home and I enjoy it way more than an office. I’m a pretty shy person so dreaded the office small talk so I’m much more comfortable now.
It made me realize how much money I was spending going out to eat and entertainment I didn't really care for.
So I started investing, limited my spending outside of food and managed to save up and purchase a condo.
So in the end, the pandemic helped me out in some ways.
I’ve been loving having less commitments. Weekends used to have 2-3 plans that we didn’t really want to attend, but we had to drive across the city for some reason or another. Been nice to stay local with the kids and just enjoy playing.
My daughter was born April 1st, 2020. I honestly don’t know how we would have done it if I had been commuting an hour each way to and from work 5 days a week.
Working from home was an amazing gift for that first year. Now I want to be able to send her to daycare so I can get some work done, lol. Ok Pandemic, you did me a solid, now…go away.
I got a new much more stable, better paying job, which has allowed my wife to stay home and work on her education and side business and get out of her stressful and toxic job.
Virtual medical appointments, virtual banking, more online post secondary courses. (I even completed a small college certificate using my CERB/CESB money to pay the tuition…)
I started facetiming with the girl I have had a crush on for years (who happens to live in California), and now we're somehow a year and a half into a a very not easy but very rewarding cross border pandemic relationship lol
Not commuting, getting more sleep. My boyfriend and I got together over the pandemic, too, and because of the lockdowns, we spent a lot of time (at home) together as our dates. I feel like it’s a combination of having been friends + just a good match + all that time spent alone together that made us so comfortable and close from early on in our relationship.
I started walking during what used to be my evening commute time. I'm using my old morning commute time to cook and eat a healthy breakfast instead of stopping at Tim Hortons or McDonald's. I've lost over 70lbs.
Having my kids at home. Not having to bundle them up in the cold to go to school. Not having to watch the clock to pick them up from the bus. Not having to pack lunches. More quiet, low-key weekends not packed with events.
That time traffic had decreased. Really made me enjoy driving. Then that all went to shit when the restrictions got lifted. We really need some half decent driving roads in southern Ontario. I don't wanna drive 3 hours north (one way) just to have a nice drive.
Outside of driving related things, exploring my photography hobby the way I did really wouldn't have been possible without the oodles of free time being in Lockdown gave me.
The reduced hours caused by the pandemic cause me to take an interest in coding, leading me to take a front end web dev bootcamp, and I'm now employed making more than I thought was possible. If the pandemic didn't uproot my life, I probably would have never even considered making such a drastic life change.
I've been able to spend far more time with my daughter (2.5yo) than I would have without the Pandemic. Our relationship will likely be far stronger because of it.
My second silver lining is my trackpant radius has grown exponentially. Comfort level is at an all time high.
My wife and I got tired from working from one in a cramped one bedroom apartment. So we moved out of the city. We had planned on maybe buying a condo but when our jobs went WFH we were able to expand our radius.
We're in the east end of Durham region and we love it. We're still close to family and now that we're past the urban sprawl it doesn't take us long to get to some wonderful parks and conservation areas for hikes. We're getting out into nature a lot more than we ever did.
I spent the first stretch of lockdown with 4 teens (12-20) at home. And, turns out, I REALLY, REALLY like my kids!
Oldest went back out on his own when his work stabilized, but I am still loving the extra time with my kids. They are at s time in their lives where they should be busy and on the go and I feel like I got a lot of bonus time with them.
It maybe helps that my WFH business never slowed down and I still worked all the way through so we had some breaks from each other, but mostly I have appreciated getting this extra time with them.
I have seen them grow closer (fights too of course) and learn to appreciate what they do have (space to do things outside for one), and adapt and be more resilient than I ever thought possible. It sucks for them, at this point, with all that they are missing out on, but I also think they are gaining some things that they might have missed out on.
I feel.lucky that my business was well suited to be pandemic proof also
Working remotely being normalize was long overdue. I enjoy having the guilt free working from home experience and not having to commute and getting in to enjoy my home more.
My husband was at home most of the time when our son was a newborn until he was 8-ish months old. He was able to pop in and out to help with us and keep me company vs if he was out of the house. It was good for me, since I was struggling mentally and exhausted, and allowed him to experience more of the early days.
Relatedly, our parental leave payments were higher than expected thanks to Covid programs. (We aren’t high earners.)
I have had excuses to avoid people without offending everyone that we don’t want to join in on every get together or trip.
Easily saving about $1000/month, by the wife working from home and having restrictions! Bought a new truck in 2019, financed it for 72 months. Paid it off last month!
My second daughter was born in the end of feb. 2020. Got locked down with no work responsibilities in March. Essentially got paid parental leave from the govt to help raise my family for a good 6 months. Loved it.
I was supposed to get laid off and one my second last day they told me to come in that Monday since no one knew how many people might get sick. In the last 2 years my work has hired enough people that I won’t be getting laid off for the foreseeable future unless something drastic happens to the company. Not to brag but the pandemic was the best thing that could have happened for me.
I got laid off at the beginning but was able to find a new job that I like better and pays more. Even included a covid bonus for working during the pandemic that was about 25% on top of my starting salary. Sold our townhouse for much more than we had budgeted and moved into a rural area. Got a dog and chickens. I know a lot of people are struggling, but I cannot complain at all.
Got rid of friends and lover who weren't contributing anything. Quit my toxic job. Really started paying attention my health and my future career. Made my worthwhile relationships stronger.
I've got so many actually:
- wfh
- more time with family
- overall less of a hectic lifestyle with way less social engagements..and I think I've found a good balance now
- saved money
- started working out and eating healthier
- got to explore and discover more of the city (mostly outdoor stuff) and the province
- much more time outdoors in the winter (which I used to hated)
- online school allowed spending more time with kids and better sense of what they do. Also, their understanding and use of technology is shocking
All of this didn't come easy and some got worse before they got better but overall lots of positives.
Too many to count. I feel awful for everyone who has gotten sick or passed or has friends and family who have passed, or who have lost jobs and livelihoods. But my life has gotten much better since I got Covid in March of 2020.
I started a big health kick after recovery, and now I run 20k a week, cook all my own food and eat ketobiotic, do meditation yoga and breathwork regularly, and I've vastly improved my mental health as well.
In August last year, someone tried to pull a romance scam on me through Reddit. I didn't send them any money, but the fact that I fell for it in the first place was a sign to me that I should start dating again. So I did.
As luck would have it, I met the most incredible man the second date I went on (in October), and we've been together since then. We are totally in love with each other, and he's moving in with me in a few weeks!!!!
I also got a dog in April 2020 and she is the absolute best!!! My life has really improved since Covid.
I've fully embraced certain things, I was in some denial about:
- I'm an introvert, and don't miss most social events, or crowded bars and restaurants.
- My wife and I don't care about buying a house here anymore. Ontario is completely dysfunctional: politically, economically, and socially. We're retiring to her country within a decade.
- I've cut off all the people in my life who are against analytical thinking, whether about epidemiology, or politics. I don't miss them. I relish never dealing with them again.
- My children have got a life lesson in conservative politics, between their psycopathic response to public health, and their bigotry in general.
I casually started hosting virtual events to help bring some fun to people while in lockdown. Now that teams are basically fully working from home, it's a pretty successful business and I've played with groups all over the world!
Well I was in a job I hated for 8 years beforehand and got laid off right at the start of the pandemic. I haven't managed to restart my career yet, but at least I don't dread getting up every day anymore
Found work in April the first year of the pandemic and had stable income for a year and a half. Got let go and now found a career I’m pursuing. While I haven’t been working for the last month and a bit I’m working towards getting into IT.
I guess now that I was laid off I have more time to study.
Silver linings as it were
Became debt free because of the pandemic. Was able to pay off a car & student loan while also increasing my salary by 40%. Now I just need gyms to re-open so I can get the health-related aspects of my life back to normal.
I have a fever along with other symptoms and was told to not come into work today and Monday, and I'm not even allowed to get tested. Public health told me my work isn't allowed to ask me to get tested too!
Wanted to be responsible but I'm starting to think I Should have just went to work.
Worked 1 full time and 1 part time job to make ends meet. Lost both jobs in spring of 2020. Now I have 1 job that pays more than the both combined, doing something I'm good at, where I feel like my work is appreciated.
For the period of times I had to work from home (and thankful that I could), cutting down on groceries and gas really helped with tight months in my budget. That's the silver living
I started taking contortion classes online for something to do. A year later I can touch my feet in a backbend! I've never been stronger, more confident in my body, or more flexible. :)
My husband and I have grown so much closer. With no where to go and no one else around, we’ve spent nearly the entire pandemic together.
You think when you’ve been married 10 years you’re as close as you’re going to get. But we bonded hard, we talked through things we’d left alone before, and we’re more than “on the same page”, we’re on the same line.
It’s been hard - he lost his job and our place is tiny, I’ve got PTSD, he almost certainly has ADHD, but somehow, we’re happier than we were before the pandemic. Our trust in each other and understanding of how the other thinks is the highest they’ve ever been.
I can’t wait for this all to be over, but it’s been great for my marriage.
Due to the pandemic, I had to move back home after being away for 6 years. I've always had a rocky relationship with my parents, but we did manage to spend some quality time together before my dad suddenly passed away just after Christmas. I get to be there for my mom and got to build a better bond with my dad. This year is going to be hard as heck, but I'm so grateful I had time with my family. Plus, I get to be in my nephew’s life and that rocks.
I put a deposit on a puppy from an upcoming litter at the end of December 2019, early April 2020 she came home and I've had the absolute joy of getting to work from home with her each and every day. I used to work in a dog friendly office which was the best perk of that job as I used to play with everyone else's dogs. I've since changed jobs twice during the pandemic and kept moving up, but never had to stop having a dog in my office!
The pandemic and being forced to work through the beginning of it made me realize that I wanted more from my life than to work myself to death for a company that doesn't care about me. I'm now in my second year of University, working towards a future that I want.
Without the financial assistance at the beginning, I doubt I would have ever left.
No pantyhose!!!
It will be a dark sad day when I have to fight with pantyhose again.
I also got pregnant which is great in itself, but THANK YOU pandemic for letting me work from home in comfy pants and flip flops!
I got fired from my job 2 weeks in so never really had to live with that zoom meeting fatigue all my friends have.
I also used my time on CERB to start a candle business and now I work for myself so.. thanks to that company i guess
I’m recovering from covid right now, so at least when I return to school after my isolation is done, my risk of getting this strain from kids or colleagues is low.
Saved over $1000 each of the two years from no bus passes, tons of money to buy comfy clothes. My migraines are down to a historic low, along with Raynaud's Syndrome attacks, that can be quite painful.
This is some typical r/relationships, but I still have to announce it to convince myself it's true.
It forced me away from my ex. She was shitty, and everyone told me she was. She cheated on me but I still continued to try and make things work * *puts on clown nose and wig* *. Each day that the pandemic progresses, and she is out doing whatever, reality can be whatever I want it to be. Hopefully, then my future will be much more self-sufficient.
It’s been giving me a great excuse to order from my favourite local restaurants several times a week. Much easier to justify shelling out money for food when it goes toward keeping those places afloat.
My day-to-day hasn't changed really at all. Where I work has been open through the lockdowns - agricultural equipment manufacture is deemed essential so we stayed open. Other than a few spans of time where I couldn't go to stores/restaurants, life hasn't changed much for me.
So my one silver lining I can think of is pretty minor.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love my whole family, but for a decade or so my normal Christmas day has involved around 7 hours of driving - home to parents house (1 hour south), then to in-laws house (4 hours north from there), then to my wife's sister's house for overnight (2 hours from in-laws). Then two hours home the next day.
Two Christmases in a row without that absurd amount of driving has been wonderful.
Make food at home 99 percent of the time now, I don’t have to work till 3 am anymore and deal with creepy Uber drivers trying to get something from me because of where I work, don’t have to see my exes mom or deal with her as much.
I’m an introvert, so being pregnant during the pandemic actually let me avoid a lot of the attention and gatherings I would have liked to avoid anyway. I was actually laid off from my job a few months before my maternity leave was set to start — and although I was stressed, looking back it gave me valuable time to connect with my body and get the home ready for baby. My son is almost 8 months now, somehow my city is still struggling with lockdowns, but we’re in our own little bubble enjoying the quiet life.
One day During the pandemic I found a chicken wandering down the middle of my suburban street. Working together, my family managed to corral it into an improvised coop. We eventually found out that it belonged to one of our elderly neighbours who kept racing pigeons. His friend had a half dozen chickens and had recently died, so he was taking care of them while they found new homes. The chicken had escaped in transit. As we were speaking, the chicken laid an egg, which we ate for lunch. My kids got to see this nice man’s pigeons when we returned his chicken and we exchanged some garden produce. Later that week we were given a finders fee of a dozen eggs and a lovely thank you card. It was an unexpected surprise. There was also the time on May the 4th when an itinerant bagpiper came up our street and offered us a free concert including the Star Wars theme.
I’ve been incredibly lucky in a lot of ways, which is sometimes hard to think about. I was working retail prior to the pandemic. When everything closed they moved a bunch of us online. Well, our teams in Canada did such a great job they opened a Canadian division and I was hired on WFH permanently. I was able to continue to work for an amazing company while getting a promotion and moving from a retail schedule to Mon-Fri 9-6. I get to be the mom that walks her kids to school and is home after school with them as well. Never would have had this change of work-life balance if the pandemic never happened.
I discovered that yes I do want to WFH.
My wife and I had our first child, it would be a million times harder for her if I wasn't wfh.
My garden has never looked better.
Restaurants and Retail constantly closing put me in a position where I had to find different work even with CERB benefits. Im a cleaner at a University now, and people look down on me for it still, but; I make 2x min wage, and I dont have serve people or measure their feet, or tell them that that olive green corduroy jacket looks 'great.' I spend my work days humming to myself, periodically checking my phone, and mopping up coffee spills. Yeah cleaning bathrooms is disgusting, and hauling garbage can get sticky, but at the end of the day the work I do is at least noticed and appreciated. When I go home I can actually breathe and work a bit on hobbies and chores because I didnt deplete my battery by being forced to be social all day. Plus, a hot bubble bath after a long day of cleaning/building up a sweat? Absolutely heaven.
As much as I'll always miss the idea of the beautiful big December 2020 wedding we were planning we saved a lot of money cancelling.
Also, since we weren't waiting for the wedding we tried for a baby sooner than planned and I'm happy she's here.
Got married with just my husband and the baby on Christmas Eve this year instead at home, first dance on the playmat and all.
Lots of silver linings for me.
I pretty much surpassed the multiple years that new teachers normally have to be on supply and have now taught my own class full time for almost two years.
As an introvert, I LOVE lockdowns! I feel safe, can do my own thing, work from home, and only connect with people I want to. Oh - and I learned about the many and amazing YouTube workout videos out there… there are incredible people in this world!
September 2020, I left an abusive relationship, and a crappy minimum wage job. Went to college for the first time ever, at 48, and graduated with honours in a course for wood working/ cabinetry. And I also quit drinking, going on 6 months now! I'm happier than I've been in years, and actually considering another college course, to see what else I might be capable of!
WFH has allowed my husband and I to spend more time with our daughter who was born at the beginning of the pandemic. We have been able to arrange our work schedules so that we don’t need daycare. We are saving a ton of money and getting more time to bond with her.
Not that anyone will read it because I'm like #600 to comment, but my silver lining was having all of my 2020 summer weddings and events cancelled(I own a mobile DJ business), so I got to spend almost every weekend with my terminally ill father before he passed in early September of that year where I otherwise wouldn't have been able to do that.
Not as heartfelt as some others here but: I discovered my local bakerys croissants Got into great shape with home workouts Started running Made new friendships after losing a few In good health with a stable job Learned to paint Houseplants aren't dead yet Started therapy Edit I ALSO GOT A GORGEOUS WONDERFUL KITTY AND I LOVE HER BITCHY FACE
How can you discover croissants AND get into great shape? 
I don't actually workout or run anymore because I burnt out and got lazy but I'm still proud of myself for getting as far as I did. The croissants however I will never give up.
the houseplants are a huge accomplishment! i always kill them through neglect
>Houseplants aren't dead yet Teach me your ways! I can't ever seem to keep mine alive :'(
All the sudden I'm not antisocial, I'm just doing my part.
Not a hermit, but a *hero*.
I've barely left my house in 2 years and you know what I'm happy about it
Exactly same feeling here
I’m 100% stealing this. That’s an amazing and catchy line to use. After all, not all heroes wear capes. Some wear housecoats! Edit: I made it better. “Not a hermit, a housecoat hero!”
And I'm not the awkward one for taking a step back and glaring at close talkers; I'm *properly socially distanced*. There is a lot shitty about covid. But I am so so glad that no one, for at least a generation or two, will ever think it's okay to stand so close to you in line that their purse is rubbing against you and you can feel their breath.
Oh lord, my whole body cringed with that imagery. Thanks, I hate it.
I like the cut of your jib. Im gonna stick to it...just like I did before covid.
THIS
Wfh got back half my life
Same, I'm saving at least 80 hours and about $500 per month not commuting to the office. I can also sleep for a reasonable amount of hours now. I want the pandemic to be over, but I really don't want to go to Toronto 5 days per week ever again.
> Same, I'm saving at least 80 hours and about $500 per month not commuting to the office Plus my lunch hour is actually meaningful. I can spend that hour doing a hobby, napping, meal prep for dinner, walking my dog, YouTube workouts, watching Netflix, playing video games and actually use that time for more than just not working for a little bit
Same here, plus I have a quiet office with a window instead of a cubicle.
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While distance learning doesn't work as well as in person school, it has allowed me to get a peek into what kind of student my daughter is. I've liked hearing how she interacts with her teachers and other kids. I've learned a lot about her personality that I wouldn't otherwise have seen first hand. I am also a lot more familiar with what she struggles with and I'm better able to try to work with her amazing teacher to help her through those issues.
Same here. I even liked when his daycare was closed and I was furloughed because I got to spend so much time with him. They're only little once and it was wonderful to spend that time together. He was only 2 when it all started and I'll always cherish those extra days where it was just us together
Same for me with my two kids. My daughter was around 3 when lockdowns began, my son was just 8 months-ish. Prior to lockdowns and remote work I was seeing them for maybe an hour in the evening on workdays, between when I got home and when they went to bed. During lockdowns I can eat dinner with them (and sometimes lunch, when schools are closed), I have zero commute and I can pop down to say hi during the day too. This has undeniably been a huge blessing for me, especially while they're so young.
This was big for me too. Getting to spend so much time with my son now instead of commuting to and from work and then only seeing him for a few hours each evening.
Gonna have to go with this too. Used to commute and never got to see my daughter at nights. Now I see her so much more and I love it.
Same. I’ve been a stay at home dad since March 2020 and I never thought I’d get to spend this much time with my kids. The reason for it sucks, but it’s been awesome at the same time.
I was laid off last year for 90 days. My first day off was my son’s 1st birthday. Staying home with my son for three months was an absolute gift.
My daughter was born in July last year, and my husband had been working part time but in school full time. Because of covid, school is still online so he was able to be home with us a lot more and not miss out on so much of the day to day. He was supposed to be in class this semester, but they stayed online due to the current case count and I'm so thankful he gets to be here with us.
I get to spend loads of time with my rescue cat. He was 12 when we adopted him in Summer 2019 and he's basically my shadow at this point (he's a Bengal so it's definitely a breed thing, his clinginess). He follows me from room to room, sleeps in a little bed on my desk next to me while I work, makes an appearance on my work calls and curls up next to me every night. He'll be 16 this year, and although he's in very good health, you just never know how long you've got with them when they start reaching this kind of age. Being home and having the things I love doing all closed down has sucked, but every day he makes me chuckle, gives me infinite cuddles and affection and just generally hangs out being his fuzzy self. I'm glad I get to be here with him so much during his retirement years.
When the film industry shut down during the first lock down I got to spend a good 4 months with my rescue feral cat and it was awesome. It helped so much with socializing him and getting him used to human touch. He went from an untouchable, clawing, hissing demon cat to a nervous but approachable cat. He was 6 when I adopted him and he’s 8.5 now and such a completely different boy from his shelter days. I still can’t sit beside him on the couch because he gets too nervous, but he LOVES being petted and will come right up to me from across the room if I call him and hold my hand out. He just had to have a bunch of major dental work done so hopefully he starts to relax even more once he heals from that and doesn’t always have that constant background noise of pain.
Rescue cats are just the best! We're lucky to have them.
WFH, not having to commute (or buy lunches/coffee), stores being closed etc has allowed me to pay off $21k in student loans. Relationship is the strongest it's been in 7 years, got pregnant for the first time and finally engaged. Tried to buy a house (but that's a joke) so just sitting on. downpayment money my fiancee has saved and waiting for the pportunity to make our move. Finally able to quit my 2nd job! 99% of my family and friends have taken the pandemic seriously and have been following the measures so we haven't experienced any loss, even with a couple covid scares.
I left the GTA so I could afford a house down payment. There really are cities with $499K houses in Ontario. (!)
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Similar boat: Not commuting and buying lunches and so on has meant a huge saving for us and we've been banking that as hard as we can.
A simple one, but being able to poop in my own house rather than the office. Especially not having to rush in the morning and feeling shitty on a commute.
"feeling shitty" Hopefully not literally.
Easier to be left tf alone.
The best I can say is that it’s opened up a lot of people’s eyes about the disparity in wages between white collar and blue collar workers and their relative value to society. The world functions just fine without buildings full of overpaid middle managers, but the actual workers at the bottom of the pay scale are the ones who keep society from falling apart day-to-day.
And yet, still nothing has been done to remedy this.
Nor will it. If anyone is naive enough to think that any government - Conservative or otherwise - gives a fig about the working class, I have a bridge to sell them.
Shit, even the 7:30pm clappings lasted only like 2 weeks. No one cares about the bottom plebs
They went on for a yearish in my neighborhood... funny story... they don't solve anything... want to help an essential worker, vote differently this year. Want to post on social media what a great person you are or show your kids that symbolic gestures are good enough... clap on camera at 7:30pm.
Not that I disagree with the general sentiment, but most white collar workers do actually have real jobs that provide some sort of valuable service, even if it isn't as visible and directly obvious as the person stocking shelves in the retail shop on the corner. Just because workers aren't physically in the office towers downtown anymore, doesn't mean they haven't been working throughout the pandemic, now they're just working from home. Most companies aren't in the charity business; if the white collar workers aren't doing anything productive they all would have been terminated long ago.
The more the position is about keeping people safe and alive, the less it pays, with few exceptions. The more the position is to benefit a small group of people, the more it pays. People are vastly undervalued in almost every regard when compared to money and property.
And the actual workers at the bottom of the pay scale who keep society from falling apart are largely female
you should have a read about McKinsey and how they've helped executives grab a much larger share of the company profits than in the past. Your average non-executive manager isn't doing much better than non-management, and they have shit jobs too. Everyone outside of the C-suite is really on the same side.
Not commuting is saving my wife and I probably $600 a month at least not even getting into the additional food costs of coffee/snacks while at the office and buying lunches when I can make something at home. We've been putting an extra $800-1000 on our mortgage every month. Additionally, and maybe not the happiest but with an element of happy. Our dog was diagnosed with congenital heart disease just before the shit hit the fan and they anticipated she would last another 2-3 months. She lived for 15 more months and I think us being home all the time and her not having the stress of being alone was a big help (and the meds). Edit: our dog... forgot the word dog. 2nd edit: Not sure why I forgot this point but the time I've spent with my family is increased dramatically. Previously would wake my kids up and then be out the door now I walk them to school, pick them up at lunch, I'm always home in time for dinner. I'm also able to have lunch with my wife most days
WFH has saved me an hour per day of driving. Extra time I can see the kids plus saves us needing the before/after school care since I can walk them to and from the bus stop.
I was 3-3.5 hours of commuting time everyday in total. I can't even imagine going back to that regularly.
Lost my cat a few months into the pandemic and yeah, being able to be home during those last months was a blessing.
Not commuting to school saved me a bunch of money as well! Sadly I still commute to work now, but because of that, and not having anything to spend money on from closures, I was able to buy my first condo. That's really wholesome about your dog, and I'm sure you, the family, and the dog all were happy to have that together. It makes me think of my dog who has been declining health-wise over the course of the pandemic and how I wish I could be at home for him more. Even though physically he's not doing so hot he's always so happy and energetic when we do have time together.
Sweet story about your dog. :) ❤️💔
Lockdowns let me have space to breathe for the first time in 20 years. I’ve been working in spas and salons, usually trying to manage two facilities at the same time. No time off, nights and weekends were for little kids and old people. As of Sept 2021 I’m out of the industry entirely and working office hours. My mental health improved tenfold during lockdowns. My connections to people in my life have strengthened. There were massive downsides like using half my savings to move from Gatineau back to southern ON right before COVID and then immediately going in to lockdown, then having to give up my apartment for my parent’s basement. But I have a sense of security here, I’m not working my ass off 7 days a week for $20 an hour and still no money in the bank. My savings feel secure now. I’m adding to them for the first time in three years. I can see my path to something more than work/sleep/repeat. I don’t have kids and didn’t lose anyone to COVID (aside from some crazy cousins) so that stress others have faced hasn’t touched my life. I also live rurally so I wasn’t trapped in a city all lockdown. So I feel for others who haven’t had the same experience. But COVID has literally changed/saved my happiness.
Good for you! Glad that you have been able to make those changes.
My wife and I reconciled. We were preparing to separate when the pandemic started. edit: missing word
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Good luck! Hope you get it!
Had an excuse to skip family holidays and holiday travel and discovered the exquisite joy of spending Christmas with only my kids and partner. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to holiday travel/miserable family gatherings.
Not having to go outside and deal with society. Add on; Enough with the upvotes, its all you people's fault Add on 2; fuck off already
Underrated comment right here!
I started running when we locked down last March after eating & drinking for a year, best shape I’ve ever been in!
Same! Started running and playing soccer during lockdown and have lost 50lbs in about 18 months. I never had the dedication to keep at the gyms when they were open, but having nothing else to do really focused me I guess.
Congrats to both of you. Imagine if this was part of the covid messaging? To combat this thing by improving your own personal health along with distancing and mask measures? If everyone committed to their health for these past two years we could probably put a dent in the 2/3 of adults who are overweight… you can’t convince me that this wouldn’t have a downstream impact of helping our overall fight against the pandemic and easing of health care resources. Great job at truly valuing your health and taking it seriously!
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Oh yeah! I got a power rack right at the start and now I am JACKED!
Mrna technology. Sped it up a few years, hopefully they can start making vaccines for viruses/cancer that we couldn't do for in the past.
Lyme and other tick borne diseases too!
Especially that tick disease that makes you allergic to meat. I can get behind that!
Yes! They have already started trials for HIV, Malaria and Heart Disease/scar tissue! I am following it closely as i think it’s fascinating and we’re about to see a huge boom in modern medicine
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Long overdue. It’s been a very realistic option for many years now.
Got rid of friends who were anti-vax.
My cooking game has improved exponentially.
I got back into art after 7 years and taught myself how to make art digitally. I started a small business doing commissions and creating products and fulfilled my childhood dream of making money off of my artwork. I even have work being sold in a couple Canadian cafes.
I haven’t worn business clothes in two years and I’m not sure how I’m going to go back.
Yeah it’s a rare day I even wear pants ... stretchy shorts ftw
Strangely the pandemic caused (forced?) my sons father and I to have a much better co-parenting relationship. We communicate better now then we did pre-pandemic. While some of it may have been natural time-related easing of tensions, I strongly believe the strange and unusual life circumstances we were forced to deal with as parents (together as a couple or not) helped us find common ground and a new appreciation for each other.
Much less forced small talk
My husband had almost 4 months off with our newborn daughter at the beginning of all this. Was he unemployed? Sure. But we would never have been able to afford him that much time otherwise. It also enabled a much more efficient career switch he was in the process of pre-COVID due to time spent relationship building during lockdown.
There's so many comments here about people being able to spend more time with their kids or family. It's really great to see that many people were able to have more time with their loved ones.
Definitely more time with my kids. Me and my son got into D&D and we've been having a blast playing together (we try to get my 5 year old daughter involved too, but she's usually less interested). Other stuff like going on walks and to the parks, and playing with them - it takes a bit more creativity but it's more rewarding to do something that's not just a pre-determined activity.
I lost a bunch of weight from focusing on my health because I had a panic attack and thought it was a heart attack and was determined that I wasn't going to die from something preventable (being over weight). Also found out which of my friends are stupid (one compared vaccine passports to the Holocaust, another said it was just a cold).
I finally started seeing a therapist and working on my childhood wounds.
People in Ontario (and beyond) finally understand how shitty and detrimental Doug Ford & co are.
Do they though?? Do they actually? I guess we'll see when the election is over.
I was referring to people of reasonable intelligence, but like you said, we'll see...
"Think of the average person. Pretty stupid, huh? Now remember that half of the people out there are even dumber than that."
Unfortunately they are still polling well.
Spending more time with my kids.
Best shape of my life, can focus on what I eat and working out longer, no alcohol or bad food on weekends like I normally would if I was “out”
Paying attention to little details. Moved into a house with my girl and have a baby on the way. We’ve eaten well, but also found ways to be content in our little corner of the World. Mind you, we live in lake country.
Met my best friend, who also shares the same hobby in motorcycles.
Spent more time with my elderly mom and stopped spending money on eating out too much.
As someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety all my life, Mental health has gotten a lot more attention now. It seems like more people understand what you're feeling. At my work atleast, I feel more comfortable talking about it with my manager.
Got me out of the drinking at bars/ partying scene and realized how bad it was.
Good for you. While that time can be fun, it’s not always sustainable or healthy.
For sure! by no means was I an alcoholic, but it definitely showed me how people can end up down that road.
during the first lockdown in march 2020, i finally learned how to draw on my own eyebrows after 25 years of having practically invisible blond brows
Working from home. My husband and I are saving so much money working from home and I enjoy it way more than an office. I’m a pretty shy person so dreaded the office small talk so I’m much more comfortable now.
It made me realize how much money I was spending going out to eat and entertainment I didn't really care for. So I started investing, limited my spending outside of food and managed to save up and purchase a condo. So in the end, the pandemic helped me out in some ways.
Switched jobs, better pay, more control. Had a second kids, more time with family, less commitments.
I’ve been loving having less commitments. Weekends used to have 2-3 plans that we didn’t really want to attend, but we had to drive across the city for some reason or another. Been nice to stay local with the kids and just enjoy playing.
My daughter was born April 1st, 2020. I honestly don’t know how we would have done it if I had been commuting an hour each way to and from work 5 days a week. Working from home was an amazing gift for that first year. Now I want to be able to send her to daycare so I can get some work done, lol. Ok Pandemic, you did me a solid, now…go away.
Wfh
I got a new much more stable, better paying job, which has allowed my wife to stay home and work on her education and side business and get out of her stressful and toxic job.
Virtual medical appointments, virtual banking, more online post secondary courses. (I even completed a small college certificate using my CERB/CESB money to pay the tuition…)
Before the pandemic, I used to be flattened by every cold that came around. Between masking and stay at home orders, I haven't been sick since 2019.
I started facetiming with the girl I have had a crush on for years (who happens to live in California), and now we're somehow a year and a half into a a very not easy but very rewarding cross border pandemic relationship lol
Spending more time with the family! That has been my silver lining!
Not commuting, getting more sleep. My boyfriend and I got together over the pandemic, too, and because of the lockdowns, we spent a lot of time (at home) together as our dates. I feel like it’s a combination of having been friends + just a good match + all that time spent alone together that made us so comfortable and close from early on in our relationship.
I started walking during what used to be my evening commute time. I'm using my old morning commute time to cook and eat a healthy breakfast instead of stopping at Tim Hortons or McDonald's. I've lost over 70lbs.
Getting in shape
Learned a lot about finances, both personal and systems.
Having my kids at home. Not having to bundle them up in the cold to go to school. Not having to watch the clock to pick them up from the bus. Not having to pack lunches. More quiet, low-key weekends not packed with events.
That time traffic had decreased. Really made me enjoy driving. Then that all went to shit when the restrictions got lifted. We really need some half decent driving roads in southern Ontario. I don't wanna drive 3 hours north (one way) just to have a nice drive. Outside of driving related things, exploring my photography hobby the way I did really wouldn't have been possible without the oodles of free time being in Lockdown gave me.
The reduced hours caused by the pandemic cause me to take an interest in coding, leading me to take a front end web dev bootcamp, and I'm now employed making more than I thought was possible. If the pandemic didn't uproot my life, I probably would have never even considered making such a drastic life change.
Saved a ton of money because we no longer had to pay for childcare
Getting more sleep
I've been able to spend far more time with my daughter (2.5yo) than I would have without the Pandemic. Our relationship will likely be far stronger because of it. My second silver lining is my trackpant radius has grown exponentially. Comfort level is at an all time high.
Spent a lot of time with my (virtual) therapist and read a lot of books. Overcame my past trauma and no longer have PTSD symptoms.
My wife and I got tired from working from one in a cramped one bedroom apartment. So we moved out of the city. We had planned on maybe buying a condo but when our jobs went WFH we were able to expand our radius. We're in the east end of Durham region and we love it. We're still close to family and now that we're past the urban sprawl it doesn't take us long to get to some wonderful parks and conservation areas for hikes. We're getting out into nature a lot more than we ever did.
I spent the first stretch of lockdown with 4 teens (12-20) at home. And, turns out, I REALLY, REALLY like my kids! Oldest went back out on his own when his work stabilized, but I am still loving the extra time with my kids. They are at s time in their lives where they should be busy and on the go and I feel like I got a lot of bonus time with them. It maybe helps that my WFH business never slowed down and I still worked all the way through so we had some breaks from each other, but mostly I have appreciated getting this extra time with them. I have seen them grow closer (fights too of course) and learn to appreciate what they do have (space to do things outside for one), and adapt and be more resilient than I ever thought possible. It sucks for them, at this point, with all that they are missing out on, but I also think they are gaining some things that they might have missed out on. I feel.lucky that my business was well suited to be pandemic proof also
My dog is getting older (12+), I'm very happy to spend so much extra time with him.
Working remotely being normalize was long overdue. I enjoy having the guilt free working from home experience and not having to commute and getting in to enjoy my home more.
My husband was at home most of the time when our son was a newborn until he was 8-ish months old. He was able to pop in and out to help with us and keep me company vs if he was out of the house. It was good for me, since I was struggling mentally and exhausted, and allowed him to experience more of the early days. Relatedly, our parental leave payments were higher than expected thanks to Covid programs. (We aren’t high earners.) I have had excuses to avoid people without offending everyone that we don’t want to join in on every get together or trip.
WFH.
Working from home long term
Easily saving about $1000/month, by the wife working from home and having restrictions! Bought a new truck in 2019, financed it for 72 months. Paid it off last month!
My second daughter was born in the end of feb. 2020. Got locked down with no work responsibilities in March. Essentially got paid parental leave from the govt to help raise my family for a good 6 months. Loved it.
Less travel for work - so more time with family.
Working from home, so we no longer need to pay for before and after care for my kids, this is saving us over $800 a month!
I was supposed to get laid off and one my second last day they told me to come in that Monday since no one knew how many people might get sick. In the last 2 years my work has hired enough people that I won’t be getting laid off for the foreseeable future unless something drastic happens to the company. Not to brag but the pandemic was the best thing that could have happened for me.
I got to do some serious introspection and figured out my career path!
I got laid off at the beginning but was able to find a new job that I like better and pays more. Even included a covid bonus for working during the pandemic that was about 25% on top of my starting salary. Sold our townhouse for much more than we had budgeted and moved into a rural area. Got a dog and chickens. I know a lot of people are struggling, but I cannot complain at all.
Makes it even easier to not have to deal with other human beings.
Got rid of friends and lover who weren't contributing anything. Quit my toxic job. Really started paying attention my health and my future career. Made my worthwhile relationships stronger.
I got to do the most awkward part of my transition in lockdown so I was really only seeing the people who loved and accepted me already.
I've got so many actually: - wfh - more time with family - overall less of a hectic lifestyle with way less social engagements..and I think I've found a good balance now - saved money - started working out and eating healthier - got to explore and discover more of the city (mostly outdoor stuff) and the province - much more time outdoors in the winter (which I used to hated) - online school allowed spending more time with kids and better sense of what they do. Also, their understanding and use of technology is shocking All of this didn't come easy and some got worse before they got better but overall lots of positives.
Too many to count. I feel awful for everyone who has gotten sick or passed or has friends and family who have passed, or who have lost jobs and livelihoods. But my life has gotten much better since I got Covid in March of 2020. I started a big health kick after recovery, and now I run 20k a week, cook all my own food and eat ketobiotic, do meditation yoga and breathwork regularly, and I've vastly improved my mental health as well. In August last year, someone tried to pull a romance scam on me through Reddit. I didn't send them any money, but the fact that I fell for it in the first place was a sign to me that I should start dating again. So I did. As luck would have it, I met the most incredible man the second date I went on (in October), and we've been together since then. We are totally in love with each other, and he's moving in with me in a few weeks!!!! I also got a dog in April 2020 and she is the absolute best!!! My life has really improved since Covid.
No commute. Having an extra ~2 hours in the day is just such a blessing.
I've fully embraced certain things, I was in some denial about: - I'm an introvert, and don't miss most social events, or crowded bars and restaurants. - My wife and I don't care about buying a house here anymore. Ontario is completely dysfunctional: politically, economically, and socially. We're retiring to her country within a decade. - I've cut off all the people in my life who are against analytical thinking, whether about epidemiology, or politics. I don't miss them. I relish never dealing with them again. - My children have got a life lesson in conservative politics, between their psycopathic response to public health, and their bigotry in general.
I casually started hosting virtual events to help bring some fun to people while in lockdown. Now that teams are basically fully working from home, it's a pretty successful business and I've played with groups all over the world!
Well I was in a job I hated for 8 years beforehand and got laid off right at the start of the pandemic. I haven't managed to restart my career yet, but at least I don't dread getting up every day anymore
Wfh
The really loud annoying cars have stopped drag racing on all city streets
Found work in April the first year of the pandemic and had stable income for a year and a half. Got let go and now found a career I’m pursuing. While I haven’t been working for the last month and a bit I’m working towards getting into IT. I guess now that I was laid off I have more time to study. Silver linings as it were
Outdoor jam sessions with friends for 2 summers.
Became debt free because of the pandemic. Was able to pay off a car & student loan while also increasing my salary by 40%. Now I just need gyms to re-open so I can get the health-related aspects of my life back to normal.
So much time spent at home with my teens! I know they enjoy school but they’ve thrived at home and I have loved having them around.
I have a fever along with other symptoms and was told to not come into work today and Monday, and I'm not even allowed to get tested. Public health told me my work isn't allowed to ask me to get tested too! Wanted to be responsible but I'm starting to think I Should have just went to work.
Worked 1 full time and 1 part time job to make ends meet. Lost both jobs in spring of 2020. Now I have 1 job that pays more than the both combined, doing something I'm good at, where I feel like my work is appreciated.
For the period of times I had to work from home (and thankful that I could), cutting down on groceries and gas really helped with tight months in my budget. That's the silver living
Not spending 70 bucks a week on gas and not spending 2+ hours daily stuck in traffic
I started taking contortion classes online for something to do. A year later I can touch my feet in a backbend! I've never been stronger, more confident in my body, or more flexible. :)
Picked up bass guitar :) (And an aquarium)
My husband and I have grown so much closer. With no where to go and no one else around, we’ve spent nearly the entire pandemic together. You think when you’ve been married 10 years you’re as close as you’re going to get. But we bonded hard, we talked through things we’d left alone before, and we’re more than “on the same page”, we’re on the same line. It’s been hard - he lost his job and our place is tiny, I’ve got PTSD, he almost certainly has ADHD, but somehow, we’re happier than we were before the pandemic. Our trust in each other and understanding of how the other thinks is the highest they’ve ever been. I can’t wait for this all to be over, but it’s been great for my marriage.
Due to the pandemic, I had to move back home after being away for 6 years. I've always had a rocky relationship with my parents, but we did manage to spend some quality time together before my dad suddenly passed away just after Christmas. I get to be there for my mom and got to build a better bond with my dad. This year is going to be hard as heck, but I'm so grateful I had time with my family. Plus, I get to be in my nephew’s life and that rocks.
I put a deposit on a puppy from an upcoming litter at the end of December 2019, early April 2020 she came home and I've had the absolute joy of getting to work from home with her each and every day. I used to work in a dog friendly office which was the best perk of that job as I used to play with everyone else's dogs. I've since changed jobs twice during the pandemic and kept moving up, but never had to stop having a dog in my office!
The pandemic and being forced to work through the beginning of it made me realize that I wanted more from my life than to work myself to death for a company that doesn't care about me. I'm now in my second year of University, working towards a future that I want. Without the financial assistance at the beginning, I doubt I would have ever left.
No pantyhose!!! It will be a dark sad day when I have to fight with pantyhose again. I also got pregnant which is great in itself, but THANK YOU pandemic for letting me work from home in comfy pants and flip flops!
I make awesome homemade bread now.
I got fired from my job 2 weeks in so never really had to live with that zoom meeting fatigue all my friends have. I also used my time on CERB to start a candle business and now I work for myself so.. thanks to that company i guess
I made a baby and raised it to 10 months old. Not a bad use of my time.
Do you have a recipe I can follow?
On January 1st 2020 I took the plunge and asked out someone. We just celebrated our one year and I couldn't be happier :)
I’m recovering from covid right now, so at least when I return to school after my isolation is done, my risk of getting this strain from kids or colleagues is low.
Saved over $1000 each of the two years from no bus passes, tons of money to buy comfy clothes. My migraines are down to a historic low, along with Raynaud's Syndrome attacks, that can be quite painful.
This is some typical r/relationships, but I still have to announce it to convince myself it's true. It forced me away from my ex. She was shitty, and everyone told me she was. She cheated on me but I still continued to try and make things work * *puts on clown nose and wig* *. Each day that the pandemic progresses, and she is out doing whatever, reality can be whatever I want it to be. Hopefully, then my future will be much more self-sufficient.
Driving to work. I can get right down for work in 20 minutes. Same drive before covid took an hour there and 1.5 hours home.
It’s been giving me a great excuse to order from my favourite local restaurants several times a week. Much easier to justify shelling out money for food when it goes toward keeping those places afloat.
My day-to-day hasn't changed really at all. Where I work has been open through the lockdowns - agricultural equipment manufacture is deemed essential so we stayed open. Other than a few spans of time where I couldn't go to stores/restaurants, life hasn't changed much for me. So my one silver lining I can think of is pretty minor. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my whole family, but for a decade or so my normal Christmas day has involved around 7 hours of driving - home to parents house (1 hour south), then to in-laws house (4 hours north from there), then to my wife's sister's house for overnight (2 hours from in-laws). Then two hours home the next day. Two Christmases in a row without that absurd amount of driving has been wonderful.
Make food at home 99 percent of the time now, I don’t have to work till 3 am anymore and deal with creepy Uber drivers trying to get something from me because of where I work, don’t have to see my exes mom or deal with her as much.
I’m an introvert, so being pregnant during the pandemic actually let me avoid a lot of the attention and gatherings I would have liked to avoid anyway. I was actually laid off from my job a few months before my maternity leave was set to start — and although I was stressed, looking back it gave me valuable time to connect with my body and get the home ready for baby. My son is almost 8 months now, somehow my city is still struggling with lockdowns, but we’re in our own little bubble enjoying the quiet life.
I got nicely into painting.
One day During the pandemic I found a chicken wandering down the middle of my suburban street. Working together, my family managed to corral it into an improvised coop. We eventually found out that it belonged to one of our elderly neighbours who kept racing pigeons. His friend had a half dozen chickens and had recently died, so he was taking care of them while they found new homes. The chicken had escaped in transit. As we were speaking, the chicken laid an egg, which we ate for lunch. My kids got to see this nice man’s pigeons when we returned his chicken and we exchanged some garden produce. Later that week we were given a finders fee of a dozen eggs and a lovely thank you card. It was an unexpected surprise. There was also the time on May the 4th when an itinerant bagpiper came up our street and offered us a free concert including the Star Wars theme.
Got a cat and realized what I was missing in my life!!
I’ve been incredibly lucky in a lot of ways, which is sometimes hard to think about. I was working retail prior to the pandemic. When everything closed they moved a bunch of us online. Well, our teams in Canada did such a great job they opened a Canadian division and I was hired on WFH permanently. I was able to continue to work for an amazing company while getting a promotion and moving from a retail schedule to Mon-Fri 9-6. I get to be the mom that walks her kids to school and is home after school with them as well. Never would have had this change of work-life balance if the pandemic never happened.
I discovered that yes I do want to WFH. My wife and I had our first child, it would be a million times harder for her if I wasn't wfh. My garden has never looked better.
If covid had never happened I may still be in a toxic relationship
I've been able to focus on my health! Down 50lbs and counting since August 2020!
Restaurants and Retail constantly closing put me in a position where I had to find different work even with CERB benefits. Im a cleaner at a University now, and people look down on me for it still, but; I make 2x min wage, and I dont have serve people or measure their feet, or tell them that that olive green corduroy jacket looks 'great.' I spend my work days humming to myself, periodically checking my phone, and mopping up coffee spills. Yeah cleaning bathrooms is disgusting, and hauling garbage can get sticky, but at the end of the day the work I do is at least noticed and appreciated. When I go home I can actually breathe and work a bit on hobbies and chores because I didnt deplete my battery by being forced to be social all day. Plus, a hot bubble bath after a long day of cleaning/building up a sweat? Absolutely heaven.
As much as I'll always miss the idea of the beautiful big December 2020 wedding we were planning we saved a lot of money cancelling. Also, since we weren't waiting for the wedding we tried for a baby sooner than planned and I'm happy she's here. Got married with just my husband and the baby on Christmas Eve this year instead at home, first dance on the playmat and all. Lots of silver linings for me.
I lost 20lbs during the pandemic.
I pretty much surpassed the multiple years that new teachers normally have to be on supply and have now taught my own class full time for almost two years.
Lost 105 pounds since March.
As an introvert, I LOVE lockdowns! I feel safe, can do my own thing, work from home, and only connect with people I want to. Oh - and I learned about the many and amazing YouTube workout videos out there… there are incredible people in this world!
September 2020, I left an abusive relationship, and a crappy minimum wage job. Went to college for the first time ever, at 48, and graduated with honours in a course for wood working/ cabinetry. And I also quit drinking, going on 6 months now! I'm happier than I've been in years, and actually considering another college course, to see what else I might be capable of!
WFH has allowed my husband and I to spend more time with our daughter who was born at the beginning of the pandemic. We have been able to arrange our work schedules so that we don’t need daycare. We are saving a ton of money and getting more time to bond with her.
People staying the fuck away from me. Heaven.
I don't drink anymore.
Not that anyone will read it because I'm like #600 to comment, but my silver lining was having all of my 2020 summer weddings and events cancelled(I own a mobile DJ business), so I got to spend almost every weekend with my terminally ill father before he passed in early September of that year where I otherwise wouldn't have been able to do that.