It wasn’t just another ordinary sunny day in March. My son was visiting for spring break in 2020; it was his first time in Naples since I had moved here just three months earlier. I was eager to introduce him to the area, albeit with limited knowledge at the time, and I especially looked forward to sharing the beauty of everything outdoors.

After a late lunch, we stopped at Clam Pass Park. As we approached the boardwalk, a sea of people carrying blankets, coolers, bags and babies moved toward us. We continued, maneuvering against the traffic on what’s typically a sparse path that time of day, until a woman with two small children made eye contact with me. She stopped and told us we had to turn around because the beach was closed.

“Closed?” I asked. “Closed,” she said. “The beaches are all closed. We have to leave — COVID.”

I remember feeling a twinge of fear and a tremendous amount of uncertainty.

Back at the office a day or two later, our publisher would tell us to pack what we needed and plan to work from home. This could last a couple of weeks, maybe three, best guess. None of us imagined work-from-home orders would last as long as they did — much less on a global level.

Like everyone else in the business community, we pivoted. We found workarounds and ways to continue operations for the short term. It all seemed to work, except for the wave of growing uncertainty. But those short-term operations continued into a longer and longer term. We were glued to national and local news outlets — print, broadcast, digital — anywhere we could find more information. But no one had answers.

This temporary pivot grew into something bigger than us. A thirst for knowledge, a fear of the unknown, a race for vaccines and then, especially in Southwest Florida, an onslaught of real estate activity. That part would come later, but it came, nonetheless.

Five years have passed; the pandemic is officially over and life has gone on — for most of us. But how did Southwest Florida actually do at handling the pandemic? How are we doing at recovery? Did we learn anything that may help in the event of a future outbreak? In “Five Years Later” on page 28, Therese McDevitt spoke with real estate professionals, economic experts and hospital executives about the many ways COVID-19 changed the local business landscape, and affected our plans for the future.

Speaking of the future, the Florida Legislature begins its 2025 session March 4, which means many bills are about to have their chance to become laws. (I wonder how many people remember the song from “Schoolhouse Rock.”) Tax credits for resilient construction, public access to beaches, preservation of state parks, guidelines for improving coastal water quality through green and gray infrastructure — we don’t yet know what will or won’t pass, but many of these topics should be of substantial interest to residents in our part of the state. John Guerra examines some of the highlights in “Now in Session” on page 40.

It’s a busy, beautiful time of year here in Southwest Florida. And I hope all our spring breaks go smoothly in 2025.