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A year ago at this time, many of us probably didn’t know much about COVID-19. Some had heard that a weird illness had started in China, but our knowledge of what was going on was extremely limited.

And when you think about the last year — it’s impossible to remember every little thing that took place. It all started with fear, at least for most of us. We were concerned about our own health and about the health of the people close to us. We had to adjust our work, our lifestyles — everything. 

Schools were closed and scrambling to figure out a plan for the 2021 school year. Stores were closed for in-person shopping. Restaurants couldn’t serve you inside. Movie theaters shut down. 

It was hard to fathom any of these things ever happening until COVID-19 turned our world upside down.

But boy have we come a long way.

With that in mind, we point you toward an upcoming special section we’ve produced. Each year The LaGrange Daily News produces its Progress section, and that section will publish this Saturday with a focus on “recovery.”

We tried to look at COVID-19 from many different angles. For one, how are vaccines being distributed locally? We also looked at how the lack of broadband service in parts of the county might be impacting people, whether it’s via work or school. 

We talked to the Troup County School System about the future of its virtual academy, which has given students the option to stay home and learn if they were worried about COVID-19. 

We also published a story on a couple who managed to get married during COVID-19, and a business that opened during the pandemic.

These are people and entities who worked hard, made a plan and overcame the obstacles that COVID-19 threw their way. We’ve all tried to do that in our personal lives.

We’ve all adjusted so much to masks, social distancing and other preventative measures. COVID-19 is currently under control, based on the number of cases we’re currently seeing across the country, in Georgia and in Troup County. Obviously, that can change quickly, especially with the different variants going around.

But we wanted to take a hard look at issues COVID-19 brought to light, as well as feature some locals who had perservered through a difficult time. 

We know many have done it, but we imagine it takes a lot of willpower to get married during this pandemic due to all the uncertainty and the ongoing changes. And it takes a lot of faith and belief to open a business, especially given all of the economic uncertainty last year.

Our Progress section will publish on Saturday, and we hope you’ll look for it. It’s a good look at many different angles of how COVID-19 impacted our daily lives.