‘Lockdown’s much easier now I’ve turned my car into my escape room’
Being stuck in the house with my husband and three children during lockdown has not been a magical experience, but now I have found a new happy place – my car.
It may sound off but hear me out: it has been parked in our drive and has barely been used for months – why not use it for some personal space? After all, it’s far enough to be peaceful but close enough to access our house Wi-Fi and the loo.
Even though I myself have reduced the amount I say to five words per day (“can everyone please shut up?”), there are five of us in one space, not to mention the three dogs who bark constantly. I can’t get a second of peace.
My husband and I work from home, and our ‘office’ – which is also our guest room and where we sort out the laundry, do the ironing and store all the rubbish we don’t use and should probably throw out – is now also my nine-year-old daughter’s classroom.
If I get a work call I have to take it in the bathroom, and the kitchen is taken up by my twins and their home schooling. So my day consists of me moving between rooms and trying my absolute best not to lose it.
One day I took a call in my car because, honestly, there was nowhere in the house that hadn’t been taken over by a child, a husband or Lego. In my car, I actually managed to have a full conversation without being interrupted – of course, the key to this was that no one actually knew where I was. But my point is, this has since become a habit and I am not the only one.
One of my friends said that she sits in her car to spy on her neighbours because she is bored and apparently they have loud discussions with the window open, which she thoroughly enjoys with a bag of popcorn and a hot chocolate. Another friend said that sitting in the car guarantees he sees the Amazon delivery guy arrive, who he then chats to about football. Anything for some human contact.
“I pretend I am cleaning the car because otherwise I would just look pathetic,” he adds, slightly desperately.
Some people have started to take the car out for a spin. They literally have nowhere to go to and they never drive far because that’s not allowed, but just to have something to do is better than doing nothing. Driving and listening to music could make the perfect date night if you end up at a McDonald’s drive-through.
I know many are missing romance and I’ve seen some people on Instagram really making an effort and converting the back of their car into a cinema space, throwing in pillows and blankets to make it comfy, while projecting a film onto the side of their house.
I have used my car to chill out, listen to music, chat to friends on the phone, and I’m seriously considering watching the rest of Bridgerton on my laptop with a glass of wine one evening (engine off, of course). I did a spoof video for my Instagram in which I demonstrated how to make the passenger seat an office, the backseat ‘the car bar’ and the boot ‘the car spa’. It’s had 28,000 views so far so I may have struck a chord.
It’s not only about wanting to escape my home; it’s mainly about wanting to have my own space. A room of one’s own. Just one little corner of the universe that’s not shared with the people I love more than life itself, but also don’t want to see every single minute of every single day.
Psychologist and Telegraph columnist Linda Blair agrees that we need our own space now more than ever. “Just as we all need to feel connected to others, to know there are people we care for and who care for us, so we also need some time to be alone,” she says.
“That alone time takes away the pressure to ‘do’, so we can simply ‘be’ for a little while – and it feels such a relief!”
Creating a ‘time out’ space could be a healthy thing for a busy household, she adds. “Don’t think of ‘time out’ as a form of punishment, it’s actually a massive reward.”
My plan is to experiment with what else my newly discovered haven can double up as. Perhaps a place to have an afternoon siesta? Do my nails? Some people use their sheds as ‘man caves’ but for this working mum of three, my car seems to be my current sanctuary. My only regret is that I did not think of it sooner.
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