I am sorry to be leaving Paris. But I met wonderful people here, and discovered many new opportunities for collaboration, so I know that I will return soon.
I am reminded of a time I visited Rio de Janeiro many years ago. The parents of a colleague invited me over for a generous and delicious dinner.
After a long and wonderful evening, it was time for me to go. I told my hostess how sad I was to be leaving.
“It’s ok,” she told me, “there is an old and happy Brazilian saying.” Then she said something in Portuguese which I could not understood (I learned Portuguese only later).
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means,” she said, “you need to leave to come back.”
That’s the flipside of, “How can we miss you if you don’t go away?” 😉