My partner works in entertainment and event production so once this pandemic hit, he pretty much didn't have a job. That sucked for our finances, but had a silver lining.
We had just had our rainbow baby a few weeks before things got bad. She's getting to spend the first year of her life with both of her parents and her siblings all day every day and he is getting to bond with her in a way he was scared he would miss while working.
That sort of close family bonding in the first year of a child's life can be an incredible foundation and is an unfortunate rarity here.
One Reddit user asked:
What's the one thing you don't want to change post Covid-19?
Turns out lots of people have opted to look for the bright side of this whole thing and found a couple of aspects of "new normal" that don't suck. Some of these possible pandemic side-effects don't suck.
Call The Doctor
Doctor phone call appointments for minor ailments!
This better stay! The only reason it wouldn't stay in my area is if the government doesn't approve docs being able to bill for phone sessions. In The Before Times, doctors did not get paid for anything they did on the phone. Pandemic saw an emergency billing code for phone sessions. The fight is already starting with docs telling the government that it needs to stay.
I work in an ENT clinic and this has been such a godsend. I've even had patients asking why we weren't doing this before and I couldn't give them an answer (personally I think the company I work for wants more money and they don't have phone visit co-pays so of course they would want everyone to come in but that's just my opinion). I honestly hope this doesn't change. It's made a huge difference in our clinic :)
- mandaj02
From A Distance
Season 5 European GIF by ABC NetworkGiphySocial distancing.... not because of health risks or anything just because I hate when people violate my personal space in public.
I love not stopping for conversations when I am walking my dog. I live in a small town. There is only one side walk so someone has to walk on the road and someone else on a private citizen's lawn to maintain 6 feet of distance when passing. So standing and yelling from that distance to chat is dangerous (traffic) and rude (someone else's yard and you end up blocking any other pedestrians from walking). I pray social distancing is the new norm.
YES in France between coworkers and such we actually kiss both cheeks but only for women and i hate it but people can find it offensive if a woman refuses "la bise" and i would love everyone to stay away from my cheeks and my personal space.
Grocery Grossness
I really like all of the sanitizer stations and sanitized carts, etc. at stores. Especially grocery stores I've seen a lady dig down the back of her pants to itch her a$$and that hand ended up back on the cart.
I also like the social distancing. More space is never a bad thing in my opinion.
Holding people accountable for how they act in supermarkets and out shopping.
Pre-lockdown at the supermarket, I once saw a guy hold a pineapple under his armpit (wearing a sleeveless top so it was literally in his armpit) while he squeezed a few more fruits. He then picked up another pineapple and put the one from under his arm back with the rest.
That crap doesn't go unnoticed anymore and I hope it stays that way.
Commuting To The Couch
Avoiding the busy and stressful commute to and from work.
I've been working in office for the past few months but even then the commute became a breeze. There are still many places doing home office and many in my company still do it too, so traffic is soooo much better.
Even if only some jobs remain remote it will have a very positive effect for that IMO.
Yep. I was commuting 2.5 hours a day, round trip. It was an absolute waste of time. I'm 100% effective at my job working from home, since I spend most of my day talking to people in other countries over email and chat. Since Covid, I've been sleeping better, exercising more, cooking healthier dinners--with time left over to enjoy my hobbies in the evening. I hope I never have to go back.
Do It Online
I like that now you can do a lot of things online now. As someone who works late shifts, it's tough finding time to get up and go run errands. Now I can get half of them done in my own time. More food places offer pickup or delivery which is even better.
- SmoSays
Yes! A lot of services that were stuck in the stone age were basically forced to modernize, which is great and I hope it sticks. It made things so much easier.
Good Luck, Facial Recognition
People wearing masks just to fck with all those companies investing billions of dollars in Facial Recognition technology.
Graduations Are Boring
Graduate parades! When our local high school seniors finished school, all of the parents and local fire department had a parade through the neighborhoods so everyone could congratulate them. I didn't know a single person but it was cool to see them excited to move on in life!
My niece graduated this spring. Our whole family agreed, we greatly preferred sitting on my brother's front lawn in shorts with snacks and drinks, cheering and waving when she was driven by in the parade, than sitting in an auditorium for 2 hours bored waiting for 1 name read.
After 20 years, I don't really remember anything from my own graduation. I feel like the parade is a much more fun, memorable experience.
- emeraldrose484
Weddings
wedding GIFGiphyLesser number of people at Wedding or just say simple wedding.
- RNpatil
My wedding had under 20 people at it. 9/10 would recommend. I don't know who would want a wedding where you can't have good, quality time with every single attendee.
Came here to say this. My culture requires you to invite random people whom you've never seen before but heard of their name in order to save your parent's and family's reputation.
Our weddings usually have 300-400 plus people attending and I find it ridiculous especially with all the expenses and stress that go into planning it. If you have a small wedding you basically get shamed and called cheap by family and people in your cultural society.
Covid is the perfect excuse to have a small wedding with people that actually matter to be there and save a ton of money!
- Siren09
So Long, School Stress
Online school!
My grades are waaaaaayyy better because I could make my own schedule and could have as much time as I needed to finish projects and assignments (with due dates of course). Plus I had a lot of time to finish other projects such as drawings and animations. So I wasn't stressed about school at all, while at school I always am.
I also don't have friends, am a huge target for bullies (autism and ADHD), and a target for annoying students younger than me. The only thing that sucks is that we do have really awesome teachers (most of them are pretty young to.)
Family Time
Spending more time with my kiddo and woman.
Second that. I have two kids, aged 5 year and ages 6 months. So #2 was born right before this mess started. I have so much more time with him than I had with his brother when he was 6 months, it's really eye opening.
- M2704
Running Water
I often work on construction sites. Looking back at how unsanitary these places are almost makes me gag. Forcing large sites to provide running water for their workers should have been implemented decades ago but is only just now being forced due to COVID. Better late than never
Magic Pizza
No touch pizza drop offs!
No trying to fight my dogs back as they try to greet the new person who is holding food as I try to sign a little slip of paper. I love just putting a TV tray outside, ordering a pizza, and it just appearing like magic.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.