It's coming. We can almost see it. In a matter of months, we will (we hope) be free of limits and lockdowns. The moratorium on hugs will be lifted. Our fears will start to subside. To help prepare for post-pandemic life, we asked Minnesotans what they were looking forward to, what they learned and how they might describe this unprecedented year. Responses were edited for brevity.
What will make you feel like the pandemic is really over?
The Minnesota State Fair.
Sarah Cade Hauptman, Maplewood product designer
When I can hug people I don't live with without feeling jumpy or twitchy or scared.
Shannon Gibney, Minneapolis author
When I feel free to meet my family in person and play with my great-grandkids heartily.
Rhoda Brooks, retired Excelsior teacher, Peace Corps volunteer
When we're not wearing masks, when we're not telling everyone they have to be vaccinated, and when people that are in poverty are back on a playing field to sustain themselves without big payments from the government.
Jovonta Patton, Minneapolis musician
When events and event venues reopen without restriction and concern. And when infections become rare and hospitalizations and deaths approach zero.
Dave Schrock, Grand Rapids building products manager
When I can wear my red lipstick, and it's not all over the inside of a mask.
Jevetta Steele, Golden Valley singer/actor
When people feel safe enough to reflect and process, instead of being hyper-focused on staying positive or afraid for their basic needs, that will be an encouraging signal that things are in a healthier flow.
Jeralyn Mohr, St. Paul artist and interior designer
When I can have a normal face-to-face discussion with someone and not subconsciously be thinking about COVID all of the time.
Chip Jones, Edina photographer
When the skyways have people again and the coffee shop is open.
Napoleon Steele III, Minneapolis shoe repairman
When I feel safe enough to enter into a building, any type of building, without having to do a quick scan to see how many people are there, or if I feel the need to double-mask up. I haven't felt safe at all since I had lost my mother to this pandemic.
Leann Benjamin, Ojibwe Language & Culture program director, Misi-zaaga'iganing indoonjiba (Lake Mille Lacs community)
The truth is that I am a writer, a memoirist: This pandemic will truly be over once I can meet it as a memory.
Kao Kalia Yang, St. Paul author
What are you going to do first when you get an all-clear signal?
I will share super long and tight hugs with all of my most favorite people!
Christine Friberg, Roseville nonprofit president
Not worry about the safety of friends, family and the community.
Dave Schrock, Grand Rapids building products manager
I am going to go hog-wild crazy. I'm going to get together with my grandmother and friends and family. There's already talks in the works about picnics, birthday celebrations, and even (gasp!) going out of state!
Aaron Perra, Minneapolis hairstylist
Go see my mom. Get a full body massage from a spa. Send my daughter back to campus in Iowa City and enjoy some empty-nest time!
Lindsey Stupica, Minneapolis performer and animator
I am really hoping to travel to Spain and visit my family there. Also being able to go into my friends' houses.
Alex de Ana Skinner, St. Paul high school student
I am going to go sit someplace and have someone bring me the most delicious drink and meal. I'm not going to have to pick it up outside or coordinate a drive-by.
Jill May, Minneapolis, oncology nurse navigator
I'd love to take my children to the St. Paul Farmers Market in the heart of summer. My daughter can get flavored honey sticks from the man who wears a hat like a bee. My sons can stand on their toes and point to the doughnuts of their choice at the doughnut table. I want purple Japanese eggplants, cherry tomatoes, finger potatoes, and bundles of mint, cilantro and green onion.
Kao Kalia Yang, St. Paul author
I cannot wait to dance in my jingle dress with my community and feel that pound in my chest. There is a place of deep sadness and grief in me missing that.
Sarah Agaton Howes, Cloquet artist
I'm going to have long dinners with as many friends and family members as possible and then, when we're done eating, laughing and sharing stories, wrap my arms around them and squeeze for as long as time will allow before we depart from each other.
Jevetta Steele, Golden Valley singer/actor
I'm going to go someplace big, gay, with a patio so I can watch men flirt, affirming the circle of life.
Seppy Yoon, Minneapolis board game designer and publisher
Go on rides at Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America
Anthony Gulyard III, Minneapolis elementary-school student
Feeling rusty? What things do you need to brush up on before you re-enter society?
The standard use of socks. I'm pretty sure creating puppet friends to talk to isn't their normal use, but I just can't remember what is. I guess I should google that.
Seppy Yoon, Minneapolis board game publisher
Letting down my guard about social distancing, feeling comfortable in crowded places and having casual contact, such as hugging and even shaking hands. And being nonjudgmental about COVID deniers and anti-vaxxers.
Dave Schrock, Grand Rapids building products manager
I feel like I have forgotten how to go to school and how to wake up early.
Alex de Ana Skinner, St. Paul high school student
It's weird because I'm a full-on extrovert and have been missing connecting with people in person so much this past year, but at the same time, it's going to take some getting used to again. Just like it took some time to get used to being separate from folks, in the beginning of the pandemic. I'm gonna have to ease into it, and not expect too much from myself at once. We all are.
Shannon Gibney, Minneapolis author
Showering and looking presentable on a regular basis.
Christine Friberg, Roseville nonprofit president
I was a little nervous to go to school.
Anthony Gulyard III, Minneapolis elementary-school student
I don't drive as much, as I work from my home and quarantined during the pandemic and have been homebound. I can still drive, but when I leave my house I feel like a cave man.
Audra Robinson, Brooklyn Park entrepreneur
Get my 85-year-old alto voice working again so I can sing in the church choir.
Rhoda Brooks, Excelsior retired teacher, Peace Corps volunteer
I need to brush up on getting spruced up. Makeup, high heels and outerwear in general have taken a back seat to my PJs and loungers.
Jevetta Steele, Golden Valley singer/actor
The Minnesota Nice has worn a bit thin lately, so I'm going to need to brush up on my small-talk skills.
Sarah Cade Hauptman, Maplewood product designer
In-person conversations (without masks, eventually). There's so much nuance in a person's body language and facial expressions that add context and color to a conversation. I look forward to those moments in the future.
Alex West Steinman, Plymouth entrepreneur
I walk around people now. It is a habit. It will take years for me to not constantly wonder if the people next to me will either get sick from me or I will get sick from them. What it created between us is a distrust that was deepened by elections and racism.
Sarah Agaton Howes, Cloquet artist
Doing what I've done I've had to stay engaged. But COVID has not been kind to my middle, so …. maybe some lipo.
Jill May, Minneapolis oncology nurse navigator
Is there something you learned or did during the pandemic that you want to continue to do after it's over?
I've fallen in love with attending church online. I enjoy TV ministry and may find myself attending with technology more often.
Jevetta Steele, Golden Valley singer/actor
I learned to slow down and appreciate the mundane and also know that I can ground myself to survive any challenge.
Audra Robinson, Brooklyn Park entrepreneur
I plan to continue working at home, eating at restaurants less and being more mindful of my budget. The pandemic really drove home for me that a lot of my spending habits were wasteful, and they did not, in fact, make me any happier.
Sarah Cade Hauptman, Maplewood product designer
I learned to relax. Not having to fulfill work and social obligations was a very freeing experience. I intend to maintain a balance between enjoying my friends and work responsibilities while also enjoying solitude.
Scott Mayer, Minneapolis event creator
I learned that, for our family — not all families, but many — distance learning is a viable option.
Shannon Gibney, Minneapolis author
I started to work out every day, not for cosmetic goals but for my mental health, to feel good in such a dark era. I started to journal more and having daily affirmations. I will take that with me for the rest of my life.
Jovonta Patton, Minneapolis musician
It was a bit of the Wild West in our home at the beginning of the pandemic, but bedtimes, designated workspaces, and unplugging at night made everything a little easier for everyone. I'd like to keep these routines and boundaries as we step back into the world.
Alex West Steinman, Plymouth entrepreneur
My family has gotten closer. We did more things outdoors — sledding, snowshoeing — stuff we didn't normally do. You're together a long time, you have to figure out what do to do keep busy — and hey, we liked it!
Napoleon Steele III, Minneapolis, shoe repairman
I like masks and I think people should wear them, when they are sick anyway. I'd like to see masks become a normal part of life.
Lindsey Stupica, Minneapolis performer and animator
I was determined that our kids would learn the depths of their patience, the gifts of being outside, and for that I am grateful. The woods coming in clutch, yet again.
Sarah Agaton Howes, Cloquet artist
How would you describe the pandemic to someone who didn't live through it?
A beautiful nightmare. It allowed my wife and I to spend more time with our kids. The 1-year-old, I spent more time with her as a baby than I could with the others — I was always traveling. I fell in love with her.
Jovonta Patton, Minneapolis musician
Remember that the people who died during this time did not die from the pandemic alone. There was no justice to be found. In the newspapers, on the days after our loved ones died, we read of treatments available to the rich and powerful. We waited to bury our dead. They came to us in dreams with questions we couldn't answer.
Kao Kalia Yang, St. Paul author
It was a confusing time, where some folks made their own "truth" and we lost more people than we needed to.
Seppy Yoon, Minneapolis board game designer and publisher
The heartbreak and loss of millions all over the world, the grief for whatever "normal" we were living in the before times, and the uncertainty of everyday shook the ground beneath our feet. The pandemic served as a constant reminder of our interconnectedness and need to care for and protect one another.
Alex West Steinman, Plymouth entrepreneur
A lot of people died, a lot of sadness was present in society, but there were many good things, too. I was able to do many new things, relax at home a lot more and go outside a lot.
Alex de Ana Skinner, St. Paul high school student
It was like a football game: the time displayed on the clock had no bearing on how long the game actually lasted.
Sarah Cade Hauptman, Maplewood product designer
This was a time of deep unrest and uncertainty in our country. We dug deep and saw where our strengths and vulnerabilities lie. We lost many loved ones. We learned that this is a way the world works and it is brutal. We learned we are just one part of something much more mysterious and we learned that we will never stop learning.
Sarah Agaton Howes, Cloquet artist
Can I say hell on Earth? Then it was hell on Earth.
Aaron Perra, Minneapolis hairstylist
You can't honestly believe how much your life can change with a moment's notice. Everything you thought you knew can be changed by the decisionmaking of others.
Jill May, oncology nurse navigator
To know the stories of our front-line workers, many of them paid at subsistence rates, who literally are saving people's lives at risk to their own, is truly the definition of humbling. On the flip side, seeing people selfishly risk the lives of others by refusing to obey rational precautions is understanding that humans are indeed a flawed species.
Scott Mayer, Minneapolis event creator
What I can do is talk about my mom. I will be able to share her story, and how she lived, and how she pushed and pushed for us to be better people. She was careful, always so careful during this pandemic, but something went wrong. Did she get too close? Did she not mask up or did she forget her mask? These are questions that I ask myself, and I still have no answers to.
Leann Benjamin, Ojibwe Language & Culture program director, Misi-zaaga'iganing indoonjiba (Lake Mille Lacs community)
Staff writers Richard Chin, Rachel Hutton, James Lileks, Connie Nelson, Kim Palmer and Erica Pearson contributed to this report.
