Mother-daughter duo turn Doreen garage into makeshift camping site amid lockdown fears
With Victorians forced into their homes to try and stop the spread of coronavirus, a mother-daughter duo has come up with a creative solution to stop the health crisis get in the way of their holiday plans.
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Romy Glenn and her seven-year-old daughter have turned their Doreen garage into a makeshift tent in a bid to keep their five-year camping tradition alive.
While it may not be traditional outdoor camping beneath the stars, the single mother said it was about “finding happiness in the small things” as the nation dealt with an unprecedented health and economic crisis.
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Ms Glenn, who lost her job as a business manager last week due to the coronavirus pandemic, said she and her daughter Laila were supposed to leave this week for Tocumwal — as they did every other school holiday period for the past five years.
“We were watching the news on Monday and when I heard the government banning non-essential travel I turned to my daughter and said ‘I don’t think we can go camping sweetheart’,” she said.
“Then with all these extreme social distance measures in place and staying indoors I thought well if my daughter can’t even play out on the streets with her friends, why can’t we have fun indoors.”
Ms Glenn said her daughter’s face “beamed” when she suggested the idea.
“I’m a pretty creative person and she asked if this was just another of my crazy ideas — but no, I was serious, so we’re doing it.”
Ms Glenn said they would not venture inside their home, unless they had to use the bathroom.
“There’s no technology, I’ve got a bag of board games and activities and we have bike rides and picnics planned at the recreation space nearby.”
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Ms Glenn said she and her daughter planned to camp in the garage for a week, but did not rule out continuing until Easter.
“There is so much suffering going on in the world at the moment and it’s important to use this time to stop and reflect,” she said.
“Turn the TV off, spend some quality time with your loved ones — now is the time to appreciate the things we take for granted in our normal everyday lives.”