No need to tell readers what we've been up to from July 2010 through June 2014 - there are four years of posts to read from TALIM Director's Blog, when I headed the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies.
But those were unforgettable times, when we were given a chance to shape a cultural program at America's only National Historic Landmark in a foreign country. "Our Moroccan Years."
It isn't possible to sum up in one blog post what this place means to us, and though we have now returned home to Brussels, we'll always have a special place for Tangier and the people we got to know thanks to the Legation.
Like Mustapha Temeli (photo, right), who, with his attention to detail and wide-ranging skill set, helped make the Legation museum's exhibits stand out.
Today in Morocco, people are celebrating King Mohammed VI's 15th anniversary of his accession to the throne. Throne Day - we always looked forward to the Moroccan Air Force feats of acrobatic prowess over the Bay of Tangier.
As international media continues to bombard us with bad news from what seems to be an entire swath of the world, from Libya through Syria and Iraq and over to Afghanistan and Pakistan, let's pause to reflect on the good news country that you rarely hear of - Morocco.
While things aren't perfect there (and where are they perfect?)... lopsided income distribution, high levels of un-or-underemployment, etc. ... Morocco after 15 years of "M6" can be a happy place to live. And that's thanks to Moroccans and their enlightened monarch. There's something to be said about a royal tradition dating back centuries, and a sense of nationhood that pre-dated the short lived colonial era.
And while Morocco too is concerned about the inroads made by radical Islam and the potential for blowback among volunteers for the myriad wars inflaming the region, it has taken steps to reinforce Morocco's traditionally moderate form of Islam.
Yes, Morocco made its mark on us. Our long goodbye - the car ferry trip over to Tarifa and Spain, Tangier fading into the distance - continued after we arrived in Brussels. When we went to pick up our footlockers sent by a transporteur, we had to smile at what was an outpost of Morocco in the capital of Europe. Among the excess baggage sent via long distance bus was a watermelon - loose, with a name taped to its undented skin.
Someone had sent a expatriate relative a watermelon - with love from Morocco.