how have you changed during the pandemic?

[Deleted]

Dec 12, 2020 13:49:56 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I am developing an unhealthy compulsion to buy TP. Like I can't pass a display of it without getting anxious.

Logically I know it's silly and I know people lived without it for thousands of years just fine.

But that product is now forever imprinted with all the anxiety I felt back in March. Our local Walmart looked like a set piece from The Walking Dead.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to grocery shop again without a panic attack. It'll be a long time for sure.

I'll second this.  I am trying to get out of panic buying mode, but it is hard.  I think about food way more than I should.  And I always check out the toilet paper aisle.  Today I bought 3 boxes of Kleenexes even though I don't really need more Kleenex.  They were on sale, though, and I do use a lot . . . . I really bought them because they were there.  They were available.  Well, and on sale.

I think my life has gotten slower.  Some of that is retirement coupled with DH's death coupled with the pandemic . . . But I don't do much these days except clean house or wash clothes, play on the computer, and read.  It's not a bad life.  I am not depressed.  It's just the days go so slowly.  I talk to my BFF every day and my sister.  I talk to my daughter a few times a week.  And that's it for social contact.  I go to church on Sunday, but I sit on a pew by myself.  You get the picture.

But I do believe this, too, shall pass. 

[Artemis Windsong]

The billiards room is open but I have not gone.

[bookkeeper]

Dec 12, 2020 10:43:54 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

so sorry to hear about DHs accident, bookkeeper . I did not know about that at the time. Hope he is doing well!

Yes, he has recovered pretty well.  The arm healed up just fine.  He broke both bones in his lower leg.  The surgeon figured the brake pedal was the culprit. The leg advises him of any impending weather fronts.  The thing bothering him most is his lack of "wind" as he calls it.  I think the damage from the broken ribs along with 6 months of doing nothing has really impacted his stamina.  We keep walking and riding bikes, I am sure it will get better.

The root cause of the accident was inattentive driving, listening to Monday Night Football on the car radio. DH was a small town athlete.  Played football since he was 12 years old, college scholarship too.  The elephant in the room is damage from concussions.  As he ages, cognitive abilities are declining faster than they should.  He used to run a utility with 19 employees.  3 weeks ago he tried to cross a railroad track with the lights flashing - again.  The part of his brain that registers fear or danger seems to be slow to engage.  Everyone has some shortcoming as they age, but I did not want to admit this was happening.  I have, however, been living with a sense of impending doom since 2014.   The shift in our relationship is because I cannot trust my husband to always think clearly.  I have to do what I know is right, regardless of marital blowback.

I have put on my own oxygen mask before I can help others.  Oxygen is good, I will be alright.

[stillmovingforward]

Dec 11, 2020 14:36:59 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

I'm still trying to puzzle this out. I am not the same person, but I can't put my finger on it.

Will I snap back? I don't think so. Something fundamental has shifted. 

I am not the same person. 

I have become less tolerant of others' intolerance. I am appalled that our country shows such strong disregard for others' wellbeing. Consequently, I have embraced my introvert nature without any excuses anymore. I have refused to do things I hate because society thinks I should do them.

I recognize that I am very fortunate to be working again after a traumatic furlough earlier in the pandemic (furloughed, unemployment didn't come in for months, kids came home with no money, couldn't afford COBRA because of no unemployment right after a life altering medical diagnosis). I give more frequently to the food bank. 

I have learned that I am very good at working from home and enjoy it tremendously. I do not want to go back to working with people even though I have 'thrived' on that during my career. I no longer want to lead teams.

Hoarding food for the sake of other's in my house's comfort has now become my comfort. So if I have to go without a trip to the store for a few weeks, I can. If I lose my job again and can't get unemployment, we can still eat for quite a while. 

I do not want people in my house anymore.  I'm tired of sharing 'my' space with anyone besides my DH. Your humor does not amuse me. 

[Deleted]

Dec 12, 2020 19:36:02 GMT -5 @bamafan1954 said:

I think my life has gotten slower.  Some of that is retirement coupled with DH's death coupled with the pandemic . . . But I don't do much these days except clean house or wash clothes, play on the computer, and read.  It's not a bad life.  I am not depressed.  It's just the days go so slowly.  I talk to my BFF every day and my sister.  I talk to my daughter a few times a week.  And that's it for social contact.  I go to church on Sunday, but I sit on a pew by myself.  You get the picture.

But I do believe this, too, shall pass. 

I feel a lot of that, too, minus the phone calls. And my church building is closed again.

I get a little hot under the collar when people who live with at least one person chastise anyone venturing out of the house. I'm OK with living alone and love my house and it's still not easy. Right now I'm in a hotel in Leavenworth, KS- BF and I are about to visit the military cemetery where his parents are buried. I've been comfortable with hotels during the pandemic- have stayed at the lower-tier Hilton properties such as Hampton Inn and they're thinly-populated and enforce masking in public areas. Breakfasts are scaled down with no buffet items. BF lives over an hour away so typically we see each other only on the weekend but I have someone to hug and with whom I can have long, unmasked conversations and have a meal. It makes a huge difference.

Oh, yeah- this year I voted for a Democratic Presidential candidate for the first time in my life.

[Opti]

Dec 13, 2020 0:00:09 GMT -5 stillmovingforward said:

Dec 11, 2020 14:36:59 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

I'm still trying to puzzle this out. I am not the same person, but I can't put my finger on it.

Will I snap back? I don't think so. Something fundamental has shifted. 

I am not the same person. 

I have become less tolerant of others' intolerance. I am appalled that our country shows such strong disregard for others' wellbeing. Consequently, I have embraced my introvert nature without any excuses anymore. I have refused to do things I hate because society thinks I should do them.

I recognize that I am very fortunate to be working again after a traumatic furlough earlier in the pandemic (furloughed, unemployment didn't come in for months, kids came home with no money, couldn't afford COBRA because of no unemployment right after a life altering medical diagnosis). I give more frequently to the food bank. 

I have learned that I am very good at working from home and enjoy it tremendously. I do not want to go back to working with people even though I have 'thrived' on that during my career. I no longer want to lead teams.

Hoarding food for the sake of other's in my house's comfort has now become my comfort. So if I have to go without a trip to the store for a few weeks, I can. If I lose my job again and can't get unemployment, we can still eat for quite a while. 

I do not want people in my house anymore.  I'm tired of sharing 'my' space with anyone besides my DH. Your humor does not amuse me. 

We all change its just more obvious with this pandemic and how its changed our daily life. I want a better less forward facing fishbowl job, but I will likely stay put until this ends. Since I now work as a front desk receptionist at a nursing home/assisted living facility my work load has increased dramatically even though our total census is down. A lot of overhead falls onto the reception desk. Taking temps, making sure people fill out the screening forms directly. Stopping people from people going back into the facility and permitting only those the administration allows. Which changes depending on governor orders, our facilities' Covid status, and sometimes it seems the phase of the moon. Right now, I am at about three times the workload, with no increase in pay, and barely any recognition. Our team is three people and so we don't get the bennies or kudos like larger teams such as nursing for either side, rehab, and dietary. And everyone loves to blame us simply because we exist. We are an easy target being visible the entire shift and being IMO siginifcantly underpaid for what we do. 

Every day feels like an unrelenting marathon and a reminder of a former coworker who held my FT position. She drank after work. If I had the extra $$, I think I would too. Chocolate isn't cutting it, and its only because of my chronic sinus infection and lack of sleep that I am getting things done outside of work. I get a half hour lunch, and do not get the 15 minute break that I am entitled to, but this is a historic problem of working this position. The stress in unrelenting as apparently we are now in the part of the pandemic where anxious family members are taking their anxiety on all staff and going after reception. Oh and I discovered how bad a new manager must be. He hid in a part of the lobby which might be invisible to the lobby camera but is in direct sight line of the desk. He was there at least a half hour tucked away staring at me off an on and constantly typing on his phone. My last worst ever manager I had in my life taught me that those who can't, try to take out those who can. They spend way too much time throwing shade and trying to take other people out and not enough on the job they aren't doing so well at. He's in my cross hairs now. His right hand who has been propping him up was out for a couple weeks, and we will have a talk. Bad people who don't play nice IMO deserve to be cut loose to fend for themselves. 

Maybe today at work won't be too horrific and I should start on some stuff like documenting all that is done at the desk now, from the expected to all the work we do for other depts on demand. 

[mamasita99]

I weigh more.

I physically move less, no doubt about it. I work from home, do most of my shopping online, my part time job is on hold, and events in the city that we would attend have stopped. Even with hikes and a consistent exercise program, I still don’t move as much as I did before.

Usually I would go to the gym for 5:30 workout class, be out of the house by 7, and throughout the school building several times over before class actually starts at 8:30. I wouldn’t sit down except to pee when I could and spent the entire day on my feet very teaching special Ed kids with behavioral challenges, literally non-stop day.

Now I get up at 8, and the most activity I have to do is put a bra on and make coffee before I walk down the hall to my office to get ready to be online. Walking my dog and puttering around the house is the only required movement most days. I work out at home most days and in the weekends our entertainment is some sort of hike. But still not enough, apparently, since I’ve gained 10 pounds.

I’m glad I’m not at that break neck pace like before, and I need to look at this pandemic as an opportunity to Slow Down after all these years of busting ass.

Oh, and I am much more involved in politics. I’m horrified by what has happened to our leadership in the last several years and I haven’t given up on this country yet.

[laterbloomer]

I've been thinking about this and I'm still not sure.
I am like a few other people that came to realise just how many people I know that are idiots and/or assholes. I'm still trying to reconcile some of these people claiming they would do anything to help a suffering friend and their refusal to wear a mask and their support of Donald Trump. I have always been the type to cut ties with toxic people, I am a bit more in your face about it these days.
It has also changed my view on the morality of being busy vs being more relaxed (which I am). Those people don't stay busy because of their moral beliefs, they just can't sit still. Even when it was more ethical to stay home and stay still some of them just had to be on the go.
But my feeling is that the pandemic has just been the last piece of the things that have inspired these epiphanies. The uprising of Radical Conservatives around the world that culminated in 's election, the Me Too movement, BLM, there are a number of things that have contributed.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Dec 13, 2020 10:04:47 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

I've been thinking about this and I'm still not sure.
I am like a few other people that came to realise just how many people I know that are idiots and/or assholes. I'm still trying to reconcile some of these people claiming they would do anything to help a suffering friend and their refusal to wear a mask and their support of Donald Trump. 

are you telling me people in canada support trump??

[laterbloomer]

Dec 13, 2020 12:23:50 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Dec 13, 2020 10:04:47 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

I've been thinking about this and I'm still not sure.
I am like a few other people that came to realise just how many people I know that are idiots and/or assholes. I'm still trying to reconcile some of these people claiming they would do anything to help a suffering friend and their refusal to wear a mask and their support of Donald Trump. 

are you telling me people in canada support trump??

Yep 🤨, they are a minority but they're here. And I know some of them.

[Ava]

Positives;

- I got a reprieve on my student loans and I'm pretty sure I'll get some form of forgiveness
- I'm employed and my job is very stable
- I haven't done the commute from hell since late March and I won't have to do it again until April at      the earliest
-Joe Biden is president-elect
-Therapy is helping. I had the good luck of finding a therapist at a time when I needed it more
-I found the time and determination to meditate. It's also working and helping.
- I'm spending less and opened a savings account where I put money every month. I'll use the         money to pay the car loan early.
- I'm cooking more homemade food
- Now I have time to go the pool and swim
- I got $1,200 stimulus check

Negatives;

-I'm more impatient and get aggravated easily
-My mother couldn't come visit this summer
-I'm not traveling back home for the holidays
-I'm very isolated
-I'm getting obsessed with the idea of a remote job but I can't find one
-I'm feeling a huge resentment towards someone who's standing in my way. That's not me and I   don't like feeling like this.
- I still can't believe 70 million people support Trump.
- I'm afraid the Democrats won't win the two Georgia senate seats and we'll be saddled with   McConnell for who knows how long.

[Deleted]

I think I am more willing to accept help from people.  One of my biggest failings, and a source of friction in my marriage, is a tendency to see asking for help as weakness and anyone's offer of help as a criticism of my competency.  I've always been angry at myself for needing or wanting assistance, and threw that self-loathing onto others.  Vicious cycle there because when I fight back, they say "never again gonna help that one!" and I become resentful.  Stupid stuff, but there it is.

[toomuchreality]

I'm the same freaking ray of sunshine that I've always been.
😉😉😉

Honestly, I don't know how anyone can not be affected somehow. It's hard.

[lynnerself]

I don't think I have changed much. Probably because my life has not changed that much. Some behaviors have changed, but my general attitude has not.

DH is missing his international travel, but I find I am not as much.

A little more of a stocking up  mentality, always have a back up of everything I use (including booze and snacks )

I miss friends, but have always been a solitary person.

Definitely more indulgent in spending money. On food, gifts whatever is possible to enjoy in these conditions.

[finnime]

I am more leery of other people, although in my immediate area everyone goes about with masks on. The images on the media of unmasked vigilantes are alarming on top of the election which can't be finally finalized soon enough. I know it's tomorrow that the states cast their votes, but that seems late given the number of people infected with trumpitis. I have trouble conceiving of people that are so shockingly without a damn about possibly spreading a deadly disease.

I do keep a closer eye on DH, who is in a triple-risk category. He's been through a few years already in our relationship with severe health issues. I do not want to see him with Covid.

My stores of things like toilet paper are solid, but they generally are.

Ordinarily I would be at this time happily planning a trip to Massachusetts to see family with whom I am very close. I am morose at missing it this year, and I miss seeing DS, too, who lives 4 hours away in Manhattan. 

I've always been very introverted and worked for years at home much of the time. What's new is having so many neighbors also home. m,   

[Deleted]

Dec 13, 2020 8:59:45 GMT -5 Opti said:

Dec 13, 2020 0:00:09 GMT -5 stillmovingforward said:

I am not the same person. 

I have become less tolerant of others' intolerance. I am appalled that our country shows such strong disregard for others' wellbeing. Consequently, I have embraced my introvert nature without any excuses anymore. I have refused to do things I hate because society thinks I should do them.

I recognize that I am very fortunate to be working again after a traumatic furlough earlier in the pandemic (furloughed, unemployment didn't come in for months, kids came home with no money, couldn't afford COBRA because of no unemployment right after a life altering medical diagnosis). I give more frequently to the food bank. 

I have learned that I am very good at working from home and enjoy it tremendously. I do not want to go back to working with people even though I have 'thrived' on that during my career. I no longer want to lead teams.

Hoarding food for the sake of other's in my house's comfort has now become my comfort. So if I have to go without a trip to the store for a few weeks, I can. If I lose my job again and can't get unemployment, we can still eat for quite a while. 

I do not want people in my house anymore.  I'm tired of sharing 'my' space with anyone besides my DH. Your humor does not amuse me. 

 Oh and I discovered how bad a new manager must be. He hid in a part of the lobby which might be invisible to the lobby camera but is in direct sight line of the desk. He was there at least a half hour tucked away staring at me off an on and constantly typing on his phone. My last worst ever manager I had in my life taught me that those who can't, try to take out those who can. They spend way too much time throwing shade and trying to take other people out and not enough on the job they aren't doing so well at. He's in my cross hairs now. His right hand who has been propping him up was out for a couple weeks, and we will have a talk. Bad people who don't play nice IMO deserve to be cut loose to fend for themselves. 

Opti, this is an odd way to talk about your manager.  Are you going to have a talk with your manager about his behaviors, or are you going to go behind his back and talk about his behaviors with his assistant?  Either one sounds dangerous if you like this job.  The person who gets cut loose to fend for themselves might be you.  And you might not get a stellar reference when you go.

Think hard about it before you do anything, please?

[Blonde Granny]

Other than spending too much money on groceries this year for fear of something awful happening (like this already hasn't). I've discovered I really can do with out all the clothes and other crazy spending I seem to have spent on a "normal" year.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Dec 14, 2020 15:47:22 GMT -5 @bamafan1954 said:

Dec 13, 2020 8:59:45 GMT -5 Opti said:

 Oh and I discovered how bad a new manager must be. He hid in a part of the lobby which might be invisible to the lobby camera but is in direct sight line of the desk. He was there at least a half hour tucked away staring at me off an on and constantly typing on his phone. My last worst ever manager I had in my life taught me that those who can't, try to take out those who can. They spend way too much time throwing shade and trying to take other people out and not enough on the job they aren't doing so well at. He's in my cross hairs now. His right hand who has been propping him up was out for a couple weeks, and we will have a talk. Bad people who don't play nice IMO deserve to be cut loose to fend for themselves. 

Opti, this is an odd way to talk about your manager.  Are you going to have a talk with your manager about his behaviors, or are you going to go behind his back and talk about his behaviors with his assistant?  Either one sounds dangerous if you like this job.  The person who gets cut loose to fend for themselves might be you.  And you might not get a stellar reference when you go.

Think hard about it before you do anything, please?

My aunt never learned this lesson.  It did not end well where ever she worked.

[chiver78]

Dec 13, 2020 0:00:09 GMT -5 stillmovingforward said:

Dec 11, 2020 14:36:59 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

I'm still trying to puzzle this out. I am not the same person, but I can't put my finger on it.

Will I snap back? I don't think so. Something fundamental has shifted. 

I am not the same person. 

I have become less tolerant of others' intolerance. I am appalled that our country shows such strong disregard for others' wellbeing. Consequently, I have embraced my introvert nature without any excuses anymore. I have refused to do things I hate because society thinks I should do them.

I recognize that I am very fortunate to be working again after a traumatic furlough earlier in the pandemic (furloughed, unemployment didn't come in for months, kids came home with no money, couldn't afford COBRA because of no unemployment right after a life altering medical diagnosis). I give more frequently to the food bank. 

I have learned that I am very good at working from home and enjoy it tremendously. I do not want to go back to working with people even though I have 'thrived' on that during my career. I no longer want to lead teams.

Hoarding food for the sake of other's in my house's comfort has now become my comfort. So if I have to go without a trip to the store for a few weeks, I can. If I lose my job again and can't get unemployment, we can still eat for quite a while. 

I do not want people in my house anymore.  I'm tired of sharing 'my' space with anyone besides my DH. Your humor does not amuse me. 

wow. other than the COBRA lines (sorry you had to deal with that, btw...) I could have written this, all of it. 

[snapdragon]

I am a bit scared and am money insecure. 

I ended up with my last parent dying of cancer in late March right as my state went into lockdown. I was unable to deal with the estate for months and ended up getting a different lawyer. If I hadn't I would have been up a creek, headed towards rapids and losing both paddles. The house finally sold last month. But everything is in probate and that will be going on for several months.

My job went into workshare with unemployment in April and I am still being told that I am ineligible due to me being salary. I keep trying but have not gotten anywhere on that. My pay got deducted in May and I am being askedtold that I will have to take a deduction and only work 4 day weeks not sure when that is going into effect but it is going to be soon. 

I don't have decent family to fall back on and some people in my life seem to assume that I am a bank/ATM with available funds. There have been jokes that I won't have to work now. Nobody ever remembers about probate and it can take from months to a few years depending. 

I can't deal with the dumpster fire that was finally pushed to admit he wasn't going to get a 2nd term. Everytime I hear his voice I cringe and want to slap him with a frozen fish. We have absolutely no standing or integrity in the international sense right now. I am really looking forward to not having to think about what Twitter explosion is going to come up and what disaster went on to derail people getting the economic help and assistance that is needed right now. I just want someone who will do their best for the country and not create a scene because they were told no. Unlike the person who is looking out for themselves and their progeny to the detriment of everyone else.

I am trying to stay in decent spirits but I am struggling hard. I have come to the realization that I need to leave where I am at but that is on the back burner until things get better. I keep looking at houses where I am thinking of moving to and I figure 2 years I am gone. 

[daisylu]

Dec 12, 2020 17:12:43 GMT -5 mamasita99 said:

Dec 12, 2020 16:37:39 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

I put in a bidet - not separate but just a non electric attchment hooked up to the water. It’s very nice, wish I had done this years ago
I went to Japan on business about 6 times and liked the bidet attachment but these were all electric- with even music to disguise toilet sounds in ladies room.
So I just have the water. Feels very clean and using much less TP

Stupid question, but you still need TP, right? To get dry?

I have another stupid question - is the water heated in some way, or are you being sprayed with cold tap water? 

[Deleted]

Dec 15, 2020 16:05:49 GMT -5 daisylu said:

Dec 12, 2020 17:12:43 GMT -5 mamasita99 said:

Stupid question, but you still need TP, right? To get dry?

I have another stupid question - is the water heated in some way, or are you being sprayed with cold tap water? 

Depends on how fancy the equipment is. I took a picture of the one in the Admiral's Club at Honolulu Airport. There are controls for temperature, pressure and positioning of the spray and the seat is heated. No dryer unit, though, but some have them.

It's my 4-year old granddaughter's favorite picture from my trip.

[mamasita99]

Dec 15, 2020 16:14:33 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Dec 15, 2020 16:05:49 GMT -5 daisylu said:

I have another stupid question - is the water heated in some way, or are you being sprayed with cold tap water? 

Depends on how fancy the equipment is. I took a picture of the one in the Admiral's Club at Honolulu Airport. There are controls for temperature, pressure and positioning of the spray and the seat is heated. No dryer unit, though, but some have them.

It's my 4-year old granddaughter's favorite picture from my trip.

Um, that sounds like a little something more than a bidet... not that I would complain!

[jerseygirl]

Dec 15, 2020 17:53:29 GMT -5 mamasita99 said:

Dec 15, 2020 16:14:33 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Depends on how fancy the equipment is. I took a picture of the one in the Admiral's Club at Honolulu Airport. There are controls for temperature, pressure and positioning of the spray and the seat is heated. No dryer unit, though, but some have them.

It's my 4-year old granddaughter's favorite picture from my trip.

Um, that sounds like a little something more than a bidet... not that I would complain!

Japanese bidet attachment to toilet, not a separate bidet like European bidets
The Japanese bidet attachment also often have a button to push for music . To hide any bathroom noises and embarrassment
I went to one park in Japan and there were 3 bidet toilets and one ‘traditional’ hole in the floor
I don’t like to even think about the Chinese toilets that weren’t in Western hotels or restaurants
And in China you need to bring your own tp , the tissues in little plastic packages

[hopetoberich]

I don't feel like talking much. Small talk is pointless. So is talking about imaginary scenarios.
I have put on about 10lbs.
I have much less patience

[nittanycheme]

Dec 12, 2020 14:16:49 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Dec 12, 2020 13:49:56 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I am developing an unhealthy compulsion to buy TP. Like I can't pass a display of it without getting anxious.

Logically I know it's silly and I know people lived without it for thousands of years just fine.

But that product is now forever imprinted with all the anxiety I felt back in March. Our local Walmart looked like a set piece from The Walking Dead.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to grocery shop again without a panic attack. It'll be a long time for sure.

I think you have handy people in the family?

Install a delux bidet.

You don't even need to be especially handy if you have an outlet that is close to the toilet.  We got a fancy bidet before the pandemic (it was kind of joke because my DH has issues about certain things....).  Its basically just a new toilet seat that hooks into the water line going into the tank and plugs into an outlet (which allows for the water to be warmed, the seat to be warmed, etc.)  It definitely cut down on the toilet paper use!

Edited to add:  for those who asked after I continued reading the thread, you still need to use some toilet paper to dry.  This one has a drying cycle, but its like 2 minutes, and doesn't always fully dry.  But that takes a lot of patience, although in lock down what else is there to do.

[Lizard Queen]

I used to be more frugal, or at least a deal chaser. Now, I don't care if I have to throw money at a problem. I'm not about to risk my life in order to save a few bucks.

[haapai]

I became very isolated.  I pretty much stopped talking to anyone at work about anything and particularly not about the virus.  I thought that I was doing the right thing by limiting face to face interactions with coworkers during a pandemic caused by a respiratory disease. 

Learning to speak again is going to be painful.  I'm not even sure that I want to talk to other people again after seeing so much stupidity and selfishness from the talkative set. 

[nittanycheme]

This past year was very rough.  My marital difficulties with my DH ramped up at the end of 2019, and really shook my faith in people.  Which was further shaken by the lack of respect for others shown by so many this year - its just a freakin' mask!  How hard is it?!  Of course they do something - why else do they wear them in surgery - because its fun?!  My work schedule is kind of a hybrid - my job requires executing stuff on the manufacturing floor and then writing all about it, so I've been able to WFH a lot.  I really like it - I'm in much better shape because I've been able to setup a little workout area in my sunroom and work out a lot more.  I started therapy this year because of the issues we have, and that's also helped, although it took a while to find a therapist.  Although we need a different marriage counselor; the one we have just isn't working and its such a pain to find one.  Unfortunately, the downside of WFH is that there are some triggers for me here now that are related to areas of the house; I would normally really like staying home, but I'm working through it.  Monetarily, this year has been pretty good.  Neither of our jobs was affected, and even though I spent a bunch online and doing house projects, we still saved a lot.  We donated to various causes too, and would like to next year as well.  Although some days I somewhat wish COVID really did run through the human race like the disease in the The Stand.

And I've always been a slight food/household good hoarder.  This has NOT helped that tendency.  I"m really trying to enforce using stuff in my stockpiles before replenishing now.