Louise Bremner wrote:

> Inskidentally, has anyone else found that homesickness kicks in at
> specific times?

Yes. Like when there are deaths in the family.

> I'd always assumed from observation of myself and others
> that it attacks at random, with apparently random triggers.

That, too. In late spring, I was determined to settle down back at home, study
nursing, send my children to school back home, have them grow up there, and me
make a living there, while all of us became eligible for American Social Security.

Then I visited home, saw how including airfare, it cost me about 7,000 dollars for
the month WHILE STAYING IN MY MOTHER'S HOME, as well as seeing how homes (new and
used) went for 300,000 to 400,000 dollars and up, and got over the idea of making a
living back home (again) very quickly.

Just the other day I realized (again) how when my children get older in Japan, they
simply will not have the free time to travel or visit family and home like I am,
certainly not multiple times a year.

Then I reflected on the financial situation again, and got over it quickly.