My nose starts right here

People are so adamant about not wearing a mask and that it really is overwhelming to me. When the experts at (fill in any science-based think tank organization) are just as adamant that we wear them, I just can’t even….

Look, I appreciate your freedom. I have had friends and family who have fought for your right to express it;  I have stood up myself and spoken at length about the importance of maintaining our rights as Americans. However, there must be an understanding. A wise man once said that your right to swing your fist ends where another person’s nose begins. Meaning that you can do what you want until it affects someone else. Can we, at least, agree on that being true?

Running a business in the Covid era is not easy. It seems that we are being asked to sacrifice more and more every day.

Here at Gymfinity we are limited in our capacity to allow clients in the building. Our parents have been so understanding when they let their kids attend without the parent being in the lobby (because we have limited viewing and lobby space). They know their kids love the gym and doing gymnastics or ninja with us. We have asked them to trust us, and they do. We couldn’t be more grateful.

We clean every thing every day. The gym is cleaned after each use, mats are sanitized and disinfected. We fog disinfectant and virucide throughout the gym every week. We are spending upward of $3000 each month on cleaning and cleaning supplies. When we find new and better ways to keep an area safe; we do it. No hesitation. If it keeps our kids safer, we will make it happen.

We have had to decrease class offerings, and with only 24 hours in a day, being able to have only a handful of classes happening means that we have had to release several good staff members. We just cannot support them. It breaks my heart that we could not keep every one of our excellent people with us, but to sustain the business and be able to stay open we had to make some very tough decisions. I think I hate that part most of all.

We struggle every day. We stay open because, in our minds and the minds of our families, we feel that we are an essential business. Providing kids a physical outlet helps them stay healthy both physically and emotionally. It allows them a small bit of social interaction in a controlled environment, and that is essential. We are as clean as any doctor’s office, safer than any “essential” store, and even more than that; we care about our kids. Your kids. These kids need us.

What I won’t do is cheat.  I won’t take tuition money and not deliver what I promise. I will not fudge on class ratios to get in one more person over the regulation. I won’t tell you I’m being responsible and act irresponsibly. I’d rather fail with my integrity intact than go to the bank a hollow man. But that’s me, and I digress. Where was I? Oh yeah…

So, while I will fight for your rights to say what you want and maintain your freedom to think as you please, I must ask for a little consideration. We are not alone. There are businesses all over that are being strangled by regulation and would love just a little reprieve; a little sunlight, a little wisp of breath above the rising waterline. It is not about making money. In fact it’s not the difference between staying afloat and thriving. It is the fight to stay afloat against the fear of the alternative; sinking into the abyss. That is what we are all occupied with.  You can swing your mask-less fist, so to speak, but our noses start right here. You cannot be bothered to put a mask on, and it has cost the rest of us so very much.

I have had friends lose their businesses. I have friends sick with the virus right now. I have known people who have fought and lost the battle with Covid and I have seen the impact on children that will resonate long term. We cannot even begin to comprehend that price. Much of this just because we just cannot agree to be bothered.

C’mon man! We are all in pain. No one has been unaffected by this, and they tell us it could very possibly get worse before it gets better. If you know that something easy could bring us closer to relief, wouldn’t you feel that it’s a small price to pay to help out? I would be happy if all I had to do was mask up and wash my hands. Geez, you’re not being asked to donate a kidney, for Pete’s sake. You want to call me a snowflake, a liberal, a fool? Fine. I’ll even defend your right to label me as you see fit. But how about while you pontificate on my weaknesses you take into consideration the businesses that closed, the people we lost, the jobs that are gone, and the children that are spiraling downward with nothing to do. How about you think on that while I defend your calling me what you want, but while you are shouting, can you at least mask up?