The last time

When was the last time you did a certain thing?

For example, when was the last time you used a camera that wasn’t a part of a phone? For me, it was Christmas 2013. I got my first iPhone, a 5s, a few months earlier. I was still switching between the Canon PowerShot that I used to take our first pictures of our new granddaughter. By Christmas, we were taking all our photos on our phone. You can trace the history of the iPhones we had through the metadata in our photos.

I’ve been thinking about last times as we approach the fourth anniversary of the shutdowns from the pandemic. Four years ago was the last time I worked in an office. I’ve been working from home ever since. The way my work is structured, it’s hard not to work from home. Some of my project team is in India. Can you imagine me getting up before dawn, eating breakfast, showering, dressing, and commuting 20 minutes to an office for a 6:00 am Teams call I could just as easily take at home?

The COVID-19 pandemic meant the last time for a lot of things. The last time you passed up a toilet paper sale because you figured you have enough at home. The last time you decide to go to work sick because “It’s just a cough, and I feel well enough.”

For many, it means something more. It might have been the last time you felt fully well. Or the last time you held the hand of a loved one.