I have had this weird thought about the lock down. It has been going on for a long time now and I know it has caused a huge amount of problems for a lot of people but indirectly it has done a lot of good things too.

This is what I have noticed from my perspective. I have noticed that this lockdown has definitely affected the time I spent with my family. As we are all at home and working from home too, it has meant that the bond that we share with each other has got much stronger. We are helping each other out with things in the house and we are spending a lot of time with each other. Before the lockdown we would be out and about so it would be difficult to get everyone together to have an event. Not saying that the events did not happen but they didn’t happen too frequently. Now they are happening everyday. We are all in the same house all the time so we get on with our tasks through the day and then evening, we sit down and spend time with each other. On some days we play board games, other days we will select a movie and watch it together. We try to go for comedy movies as they really change the atmosphere and help us all to have a good laugh.  Generally the parents would be in the living room watching their programs and the others would be in their own rooms or out and about with friends and partner. But now that there are no new programs being telecasted there is a limited amount of things that can be watched on TV. There is the news but it can get quite depressing watching the death toll rising in the different parts of the world.

Through the day we keep the radio on which improves the mood for everyone, music has never harmed anyone. We keep it on whilst everyone is doing their thing in the house. It gives us news and weather updates from time to time so we aren’t missing out on anything important. The music makes the day go fast and without knowing, it is the evening and then everyone can gather together to eat and have fun. I think this lifestyle change would be the same for a lot of families. Families have started to spend time with each other even more and this has helped the relationships grow and become stronger between them. 

The lockdown has brought the community together. Before there was a divide at the start where it was sounding like it was each for their own. All that was important was themselves and everyone else didn’t matter. But now there are so many people out there helping each other out. Everyone has come together to help the human race. The colour of your skin or your religion has not mattered, the fact that you are human is what is important. Just before the lockdown took place, I received calls and visits from the local neighbours in my area. They all said we are here if you need anything. Just give us a call if you need anything and we will be there to help. It was such a nice gesture from them to know that there is help around the corner if it is needed. My mum’s friends all contacted here too and offered the same.  It made us all smile and feel like we are not alone.  There are charities that have opened to help the people that need the help to get essential supplies into their homes. This could be because they are ill or they have no support to get out and get the food they need. The charities are just a phone call away and can supply you with things to keep you going.  It has really brought everyone together and everyone is helping one another where they can. 

As there are struggles for basics we need in life, we have started to learn to appreciate a lot more. For example with food, we know there are shortages therefore we have been managing with what we have and not complaining or wasting it. People who have been fussy eater may have had to take a deep breath and the food that they have as the food that they want is not available. Its not only with food that we are struggling, its the people that we are living with. We are all spending the most time at home than ever before. We are able to see what life is like for people that are always stuck at home. It may be an elderly parent or a grandparent who is unable to out and about like we do. We are able to be in their shoes and see how life is like for them when we are out and about with our friends. We are all learning to appreciate our loved ones and the time we spend with them.

Everyone is trying to be careful. Not just for themselves but for the safety of their families too. People are using PPE when they leave the house and making sure they come in contact with as less people as possible. You can see this is happening as when you visit stores in person or online you can see the anti bacterial aisles are low in stock or empty. People have purchased these for use. When you step out the house, there are less cars in the area and there are less people walking around. As most of you can probably remember how their local areas used to be and how they are now. There is a huge change.

I would say the change could be seen the most the start of the lockdown but I am starting to see more people and cars out day by day. I think people are slowing not following the rules as they are getting sick and tired of the lockdown which is not the right thing to do as this will just make it harder for the government to make the decision of relaxing the lockdown as the cases and deaths will continue to increase. The cases need to drop in order for the statistics to prove that the virus is no longer around and not harmful as there are very few cases around.