I’m definitely in a season of goodbyes. Before heading to CAR, the office held a moving leaving party for me (I found the balloons still there when I returned (some thought I wouldn’t), which I ended up taking down myself). While away, one colleague left. Yesterday, another left. I leave Dubai for good in two weeks. I still have my leaving ceremony from Bangui fresh in my mind. I also happened to stumble on the opening scenes of About Schmidt recently when it was shown on tv here, in which the Jack Nicholson character retires from his long career in white collar work.

My colleague yesterday said she didn’t want a present (who needs more stuff to fill suitcases?) but insisted on the leaving card. This is right – the expressions and photos in a good card are extremely precious. I like reducing my possessions as and when I can, but some objects – leaving cards included – are in a magical category that are worth keeping. I still have my first leaving card from when I left school in Salford, Manchester, aged eight.

The ceremonies around the day itself can frequently be a disappointment, something that’s brought out well in About Schmidt. When you’re full of the sadness of saying goodbye, it’s easy to feel that others aren’t treating the moment with the same seriousness. Words frequently fall short of the beauty of certain experiences. The great risk is that things fall flat, and you’re left thinking – is that really all they thought of me? Or, did it all just amount to that? Behind much of this is the fact that at the end of the day, few things we do are of lasting significance – we can put so many hours of our days, and stress over office tasks, that on reflection quickly lose their importance.