Yes. And No.

Yes - I liked working from home (now back on site 5 days a week), and having a good excuse not to go to family events or even leave our house all weekend.  

No - we'd like to do more, but with DH being immunocompromised, even though he's vaccinated he may not be safe, so we have to still limit travel, etc. 

Covid has kept the toxic away for so many.

Dang your SD and SIL sound gross. 

Make you and your darling DD's scarce when they come. Either that or come up with the sniffles and cough.   hack sniff hack "sorry I am sick "

Nah, the benefits of the quarantine ran out for me last July (working from home, less frequent seeing of undesirables.) That part was nice while it lasted, though! 

A bit, yes. I'm an introverted homebody by nature do elements of this have been heavenly! Next week, I have to go back to the office 4 days a week. Not happy.

The only positive (other than the obvious negative impacts this whole experience has had on people across the world) is that SS10 will go back to school in the fall. Online learning has been a joke and having him here 24/7 has really wrought havoc on DH's and my nerves.

and where you're coming from. I wouldn't want more of them either.

Why not, when you know they're coming, grab your two littles and head out for a mommy day of fun. Nothing says you have to sit there and be treated badly in your own home. Go to the zoo, just you nd your kiddos, or to the park, or to anywhere and wear those kiddo out then arrive home with a "oh hi SIL, oh Hi SD, the kids are so tired and I forgot you were coming. Nap time for them but great to see you two"  then go tuck the littles in and enjoy some you time with your laptop or tv alone in your room.

Well, I'm not convinced it's over, especially if people refuse to get the vaccine.  In all honesty, in my area, where the courts routinely threw out stay at home orders and mask mandates, schools have been in-person for the entire school year and many people have gone about their lives as normal, I see no difference at all (other than weather-related differences in how much people go out) between now and 6 months ago.  DH has worked outside the home for the entire pandemic, and with the exception of a couple weeks last spring the skids have carried on their custody schedule as usual.  I guess one plus is that MIL hasn't visited from out of state in over a year.  From what I'm hearing, there are going to be permanent changes for a lot of people.  I know where my sister works they were planning to add a new building to their office complex, and now they've decided that "work from home" works and they scrapped the new building and plan to have people space-share and come into the office only a couple days a week, permanently.

In your case, it sounds like the "stay at home" part of covid was a blessing, and bringing back toxic people to your life will definitely be a negative.  Does your husband see the advantages of his family not being around?  Is he willing to limit their visits?

I was just thinking the same thing - that I am sad Covid is ending. DH has made two comments how he needs to takes SD away this summer, And as he said "Not just one time". So yayyy!! We have to have two mini vacays with her. Last summer was so nice without having to try and figure out where to go with her.

My SS ignores DH texts most of the time and only replies when he wants something. He only says I love you too when my husband agrees to buying him something. SS is 19 and I tried for many years (since he was 3) to be there for him but BM made it impossible. They constantly guilt DH to get as much as they can out of him. It never ends when BM is toxic, the skids will be the same exact way.

As far as step world is concerned, Covid has not changed anything in my life, as we didn't see my SD (now an adult), much anyway. Work wise, same, DH and I have gone to work as before.

I will say that I think we can take some things forward.

I like not having people breathe down my neck while in line, I like not shaking hands with people, I like that businesses are more conscious of sanitation practices. These are things that I would like to see continue and that I think are good, overall, whether it be lower cases of the flu, less colds, whatever. I've never been a germaphobe but Covid has made me realize just how gross life is, sometimes, and how Howie Mandel kind of had it right the whole time.

YES!! I thought it was just me, but I actually mentioned it to my therapist a couple weeks ago, and what she said makes perfect sense. I'm a hardcore introvert. I like to be at home, I only like being around certain select people, and I like things to be peaceful. During quarantine, we introverts RULED! It was finally our time to shine. Everyone had to adjust to our way of living. We weren't "weird" for staying home on a Friday night instead of going (squirm) OUT. For once in our lives, the world did what we wanted it to. Now that it's over (or at least mostly), we're getting all angsty. LOL! It makes perfect sense to me! Back to associating with people we don't necessarily want to. No more working from our little cocoons, in our PJs, with our pets, at home. Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT happy about the Covid part, but the hibernating for a year? Best. Thing. Ever.