There’s been ups and downs.

Life in lockdown has been frightening at times. It’s been boring and frustrating. It’s been challenging – especially if you have children or vulnerable relatives you’ve been protecting as the threat of Covid-19 continues to skulk and lurk at the edges of everything we do.

It’s been tough to keep smiling when all your business plans are crumbling before your eyes. It’s been weird roaming the house in your socks on a Monday afternoon whispering ‘WTF’ to yourself every time you watch the news.

But while grappling with a new kind of normal, a situation none of us has experienced before, we’ve all learned a thing or two… whether we wanted the lesson or not.

Putting normal life on pause gave us time (so much time) to take a long look at ourselves and our lives and be grateful for what we still had when so much was taken away.

And you know what? It wasn’t all bad.

Here are just 25 things Yay Cork readers told us they are enjoying about life in lockdown: 

1. “Taking time to work on myself and treat myself.”
2. “Family time and the little things in life such as walks, sunsets and nature, which are free.”
3. “More time to work on my garden.”
4. “No commute!”
5. “Having loads of time to make nicer meals.”
6. “One-on-one time with my little girl before her brother arrived – now we’re together all the time.”
7. “Hearing the birds sing.”
8. “A pause from the hectic – traffic, city parking, monotony of working life.”
9. “Quality time with my housemates.”
10. “My dog.”
11. “I got back to reading books in the sun. I am going to keep that part.”
12. “Working at home and having the fridge so close!”
13. “The time to reflect on who and what is important in my life.”
14. “Discovering that I can do really effective home workouts with free online videos.”
15. “I’ve had time to talk to people who I haven’t been able to talk to properly in months.”
16. “Zooming my best friends. Making the time for connection, even if it’s virtually.”
17. “Being away from people.”
18. “Taking things at a slower pace.”
19. “Guiltless chilling out – I’m usually a busybody.”
20. “Having time to work on new projects.”
21. “Nature. Lots and lots of nature.”
22. “Lunch with my husband every day.”
23. “The city being quieter and cleaner.”
24. Never having to make up an excuse to avoid going to the pub. I’m an introvert so this has been bliss.”
25. “Time to stop and think about where I’m going in my career and relationship. I’m going to make some changes.”

What are the things you enjoyed while self-isolating or what did lockdown teach you about yourself? Let us know on Twitter @YayCork.