That's all, folks!

Your suspicions are correct: I'm home.
That last cryptic entry, which was meant to look like it was written in Tokyo, was actually written from my brother's place in Philly. I did my best to recover from jet lag there for a few days (epic failure - I was a zombie for days! Thanks, toddler on the plane who proved it's possible to scream for 9 consecutive hours without collapsing from exhaustion...). After that we visited my Dad's family in Albany and pulled a fantastic surprise on my Mom in Rhinebeck. She had no idea I was coming home, so we just showed up at her house on Sunday unannounced. It was great - the full-scale double-take and everything. Well worth the bit of secrecy.
Since then I've been busily visiting, catching cold, and working on getting my life going again. It's true what they say: there's no place like home. I've never been so excited to apply for a job, see an old neighborhood, hear a familiar song, or lay eyes on friends in my life. True story: while driving back from my mother's house, "This Land Is Your Land" came on the radio, and I was singing along until I had to stop - the giant smile on my face was throwing my pitch. It's the little things that make being home just as exciting and wonderful as being away.
But it won't be of nearly as much interest to you guys out there in cyberspace, so as much as I'm sure you'd be fascinated by the chronicles of my trips to Target after work, this will be the end of the road for The Mobile Ms. T. I hope you've all enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing to you. Thank you so much for all your participation in my good days and support in the not-so-good ones. It was a great connection to home for me.
And who knows...hopefully someday in the not so distant future you'll get an email saying I've shouldered my backpack once again and The Mobile Ms. T is back in business...
'till then, I am
Katie, The Mobile Ms. T, signing off.