We have the tools to stop COVID-19. We just have to be willing to use them.

I am done with COVID. We all are. Unfortunately, COVID is not done with us.

For too long, COVID has dictated school schedules, work scenarios, and social gatherings.

Social gatherings are strained as households respond differently to COVID.

Too many juggle crazy loads between their responsibilities as parents and employees. Some need childcare because they must go to work. Others manage work from home and support their children with online schooling and endless emails.

Fayette County schools had planned to go hybrid but remain online due to rising numbers. Jessamine County schools bounce from a hybrid schedule to online.

The Jessamine Superintendent, Matt Moore, explained that while very few cases are traced to school activity, the choices made in the community impact schools. Thus, in-person classes are currently suspended until cases reduce.

We all want our kids back in school.

The data from Jessamine County Schools and Jessamine County Health Department reveal we can limit the impact of COVID.

With masks, social distancing, and hand washing, students gather in person. These awkward rules and restrictions work. Wash your hands, keep a healthy distance as able, wear your masks and we can be together as friends, colleagues, and classmates.

When we do otherwise, the cases rise and COVID continues to dictate the agenda. We blame COVID, leaders, and others. Some begrudge those who do not follow the rules. Others dig into the position that the masks do not work and live life as usual. We all lose. COVID cases grow and we feed an ugly cycle of division and mistrust with strangers, even friends.

With five strong-willed children, I contend with my share of blame and ugly cycles daily as they fight. I say often to my kids, “You’re right. It’s not okay. If you don’t like it, break the cycle. Do what you can to make things better.”

The masks and social distancing are not natural. They were not our own choices. They are rules. Some feel like they are restrictive, imposing burdens.

As a life coach, I help people accomplish their goals. This often involves fresh perspective, practical tools, and realistic strategies. When my clients embrace those three things, they experience fulfillment of their goals. It’s beautiful and rewarding for everyone involved. They thrive and others they share life with do too.

Our goals. We want some consistency and a sense of control. We want our kids in school, steady income without burdensome circumstances, and time with those we love and enjoy.

Our tools. Hand washing, masks, social distancing, and testing and quarantine as needed.

Realistic strategies. Keep a mask in your car, so you don’t forget it. Wash your hands when you return home. Gather with friends outdoors with masks or at a healthy distance. These are just a few.

I hear your rebuttal.

“The masks are a bother, a true challenge, even an impossibility for some.”

Yes, they are. A friend of mine cannot worship masked and breathe well due to asthma.

“Being with others is critical for our well-being.”

Indeed, it is. Small gatherings with masks and social distancing keep us together and well.

“You sound like a Democrat.”

This is a health pandemic, not a political position.

“What I do doesn’t matter to others.”

Local data from both our health departments and school districts reveal otherwise.

We can spend time with family and friends, reduce work strains, and get our kids back in school. We have tools that empower us to live with COVID. For our goals to be accomplished, we must use the tools we have. Until we do, COVID wins. COVID sets the agenda, and we grow more divided and mistrusting. Like my kids fighting and blaming, we all lose, and the cycle continues.

It’s not okay. We can break the cycle. Do what you can to make things better.

Let’s turn the tables on this demanding virus with the tools we have. It’s awkward at first, but it gets better. And maybe, a greater goal will be fulfilled when we use our tools against COVID. Maybe, we will see each other, regard one another, and find ourselves more united than we have for far too long.

Ellen Martin is a life coach and the author of A Life Shared: Meaningful Conversations with Our Kids. With a M.A.C.E. and M.Div., she lives outside Wilmore with her husband and their five sons.