Staying busy during pandemic can be chore, but residents find creative ways

Staying at home during COVID 19 can make keeping one’s wits about them a tricky proposition.

Everyone’s routine has been altered, and several weeks into stay-at-home measures, community residents are finding creative and helpful ways to pass the time.

For many people, directing  their efforts toward others helps keep the mind in a good place. Billy Jo Mitchell of Des Allemands, for example, has directed time to giving the children of her neighborhood some fun activities to pass the time.

“I’ve organized a bear hunt, an Easter egg hunt and now a safari on my street for the little ones,” said Mitchell.

Beyond her immediate surroundings, she’s also taken to social media to expand her deeds outward.

“I’ve also started a storytime page on Facebook where I read stories to children Monday through Thursday. We have guest readers on Friday,” she said. “It’s really all for the kids, but it’s rewarding and keeps me busy.”

Charlotte Fabre, meanwhile, has let her artistic side flourish while relegated to the indoors, while also showing commitment to her religious faith — and wrapping up a bit of unfinished business.

“I’m finishing a painting of Christ that I started over 40 years ago,” Fabre said. “It’s a paint by numbers. The oil paint was dried up, so I am having to try and match the colors with new paint.”

Do it yourself projects around the house have kept Cheryl Ricca of Luling occupied, though she admits there are times she’s driven up the walls having to stay at home.

She added some of the side effects of the stay at home order, however, are something of a throwback.

“I don’t know if there’s a good side to this, but if there is one, it feels like the rat race has slowed down,” Ricca said. “30 years ago, if you pulled up to a red light and there were two cars there, you were in a traffic jam. Nobody’s on the road, nobody’s in the grocery … it feels like a different era.”

“Through all of this, maybe we’ve learned some important lessons that we won’t forget. I hope so … but sometimes I can’t wait for things to reopen, because it’ll be driving me nuts.”

Stephen Weber of Norco, who retired as Destrehan High School’s principal in the summer of 2018, has long taken to cutting grass as both a hobby and a way to bring some money in. During the pandemic, he’s been giving out some “freebies” he says for those needing help, but it’s kept him active and busy.

“”You try and forget for a little while (about the virus) … I won’t even look at a television anymore,” Weber said. “I’ve been staying away from people and keeping safe. I’ve been cutting a lot of people’s grass. That’s been my therapy.”

Kade Rogers of Luling said he and his children have been keeping a journal of daily events.

“There’s a lot of history being written right now,” Rogers said. “We’ve been journaling down what we’ve been doing daily. Hopefully it’s something we can look back on and learn from one day.”