And then this happens

And your entire past flashes before your eyes

Recently, I wrote about having a business and the signs that indicate you really have a business. But that I am not yet a senior became clear again yesterday.

One of my so-you-know-you-really-have-a-business checklist points was that people have left. Against your will, voluntarily or fired. Because yes, I myself had someone dismissed on the spot. Quite against my principles, but when someone starts saying on Instagram how bored and irritated he is at work, you ask for it. I shook his hand and wished him all the best. But this is not accepted. Not on my watch, at least.

Anyway. People who came and went. After a few days, I walked over to Johannes or Robin, our site builders, to let them know which email address could be deactivated. Yesterday, a hero (helloooo Henk) discovered that the email addresses had been put to sleep but not eliminated. So I had to sift through four A4 sheets with names. Names of people who contributed to Amayzine.

Our dear Maud, who was in the top 10 of best and sweetest interns and now has a great job at Micha Models.

Lies and Jet of course. I immediately went looking for our emotional farewell posts.

Then there was translator P, a wonderful woman, but with just a slightly different sense of style than we have. The moment she was translating my post in which I cursed skin-colored tights into a – you guessed it – shiny, skin-colored tight, I will never forget.

Then there was Marion Pauw who really wanted to be at the editorial office one day a week (‘I can make very tasty salads and tell funny stories’), but whose books ultimately required full dedication.

Our dear Theo, one of the few men who has been among us and whom we all had a bit of a crush on. The only downside: he was gay. But hey, his boyfriend was also so nice that we kind of had a crush on him too. I accidentally followed him when Theo had just started dating him and immediately unfollowed again. I was a bit afraid I had ruined everything for Theo. After all, he would have told his ‘boss’ about his new love, not very sexy at all. Fortunately, they turned out to be sitting next to each other and the boyfriend in question liked that I followed him and was sorry that I unfollowed him twenty seconds later. So now I follow him again and they are still happy.

Then we had the on-the-spot T. And our former intern V whom I had talked into Holland’s Next Topmodel and who actually made it through the first selections but was just a bit too short.

Then there was Coco Chloé who now has a top job at L’Oréal and our dear Yvette who became best friends with Maud. The mailing list was a long, sweet trip down memory lane. The moral of the story (I always find it nice when there’s a clue somewhere): we are a real company. With beautiful people. Beautiful people who came and went. Brought and stayed. A number (Daan! Lil! Annick!) physically and many in my heart. And that, I think, is a beautiful Easter thought.