The day I longed for

Just as corona often leaves its marks in a brutal way, it also transformed my active, working life into the castle of Sleeping Beauty. Everything slept, everything went on pause, and for everything I normally said ‘I will’, I now uttered the words ‘I would’. Otherwise, I would be doing this now, otherwise I would have that now...

But yesterday was just a day of I will and I am going. Present tense. The day was a bit of a surprise. Now I don't really like surprises, but I knew I would be teaming up with Esther Goedegebuure from JAN and that the organization was with my friends from MaisonPR (with whom I also went on vacation, for example to Saint-Tropez, such a troublesome outing) so you know you can surrender to their care with peace of mind.

We gathered at their office in Amsterdam-East where we, just to be sure, did a quick corona test. Now antibodies are soaring in Esther and me because we have both been quite taken by our friend Covid, but it’s always nice to know that if you can’t maintain the one and a half meters for a moment, there’s no panic in the tent.

Afterwards we were allowed to browse the racks of Mexx to pick something nice (my 12-year-old girl is a fan so I treated her to a new sweater and a fresh shirt), a pair of sunglasses for myself and then a fantastic electric bike. Because at Mexx (and in life ultimately too) it’s all about love (Mexx is a contraction of Moustache and Emanuelle sealed with two kisses), they had mapped out a tour d’amour through our beautiful Amsterdam. From the Sarphatipark via the Magere Brug past restaurant Tozi where we received a picnic basket, prosecco, and the best Italian bites.

As I rode back, I realized that this day was like Mexx: it was our pre-corona life coming back a bit, breathed into new life and sealed with two kisses.