We've had the first lockdown and we've come out pretty good. It was not easy, and for certain people it was very difficult but all in all I find objectively that it was best to do. We were pretty lucky, too. March and April can be annoying months when it comes to the weather. The sayings “March stirs its tail” and “April does what he wants” are not for nothing but the weather worked nicely to get through our intelligent lockdown without being locked up. If you were one of the people with a garden, roof terrace or a balcony then it was easy to do. I had to deal with the people who did not have any of these 3 but on the other hand, it was not that we were not allowed to go outside. Everyone could just go out if you didn't have any complaints. And the weather continued to cooperate because we also had a great summer. Not going on vacation I personally find a bloodletting but it would have been more disastrous if it had been a wet nasty summer. A lot of people have made the choice to go, but this time I passed it by myself. My way of celebrating holidays would not be possible and I didn't feel like compromises, I'd rather stay at home. And it was doable. I thought I'd be less sorry, but it was really a bloodletting. I could have used a holiday but all the things I ran into were also good eye-openers for myself. So that's profit, too. If you want to approach it positively. But to be honest, next year I hope to be able to return to normal holidays.

The worst part about the lockdown was that I couldn't cross the borders anymore. Now we were allowed to cross the border for messages but that is not quite what I mean. I missed the freedom of movement. But that too is something I didn't end up dying of in the end. I was surprised at the hoarder behavior of people. I didn't understand it then, and I don't understand it yet. I thought it was really weird. The last thing I'm worried about is whether or not I can buy toilet paper. I think I'm flexible enough to come up with a solution for it. After all, toilet paper has not always existed so there have been people who could live without it so I think I can do that too. But it already showed how afraid people are to have to give up their familiar lives. What I really liked was that there was a limit on products in some supermarkets. Then you sit as a non-hoarder at home with 7 people and then it is almost impossible to do weekly shopping. Or to pick up groceries for 3 days. Okay, not hard to do about it, then go to the store every day but that also resulted in quite a hassle. With 1 cucumber or 1 cauliflower you do not do much. And if you want to put meat on the menu then it's nice if everyone gets a piece of meat and it makes it easy if they all get the same piece of meat. With 2 packs of milk you will not get very far. So that sort of thing. It went as long as the markets still took place but when they no longer had a passage and I was dependent on the supermarkets without a car and with only one person who was allowed to do shopping it became a puzzle but also that we survived. All seven of us have passed through the intelligent lockdown without malnourished.

They even continued to grow and that gave rise to the next problem. We had to get new clothes. On the one hand, of course, you have internet where you can order but ideal is that not with children who need a new wardrobe and you have no idea what size you need now. My budget is not so big that I can order in 3 sizes. You have lost your money, you have to wait for it to be refunded etc. Going to the store together was also not recommended and I thought they were too young to let go alone. Anyway, here the good weather was a blessing. Washing and drying went into a sigh. And they had nowhere to go. And when it all could again we went shopping together and no one complained. So we got through that without trauma.

And then I come to the next blessing. Internet. I have often imagined what it would have been like if this had happened in the 1980s. When I was the age of my children. It was a great time, and I had a great childhood. But no cafes and pubs, no sports, limited number of TV channels, but above all no internet, no netflix, no WhatsApp, no Instagram and no godforsaken programs my kids use to communicate with each other. No Zoom and no Teams. So we would have been completely isolated. We would not have been educated at all. And then I think — and I told them that — that we would have had a lot heavier and if you think about what was possible now, then such a lockdown is not easy if you want to show a bit good. I think we should have done it with reading and playing games and that's it.

So all in all, the lockdown was not easy. For the vast majority of people it was really not easy. And we could have lived with that. We'd have had some tough stories for later. The first lockdown was in all areas for everyone new terrain so all in all, we did not do very badly.