The old saying is that “time flies when you are having fun.” I couldn’t agree more.

People also say the same thing about getting older, but the former is far less depressing so I am sticking with it.

It certainly has been fun being back here in Kentucky working at The Jessamine Journal.

Although I have only been at The Journal a couple of months, the calendar has zipped by over the past 12 months since my return to the Bluegrass State.

In many ways, I can’t believe it has been a year, often seeming more like just a few months. 

In other ways, it seems like twice that long. 

Reflecting on my time here, this is exactly where my family and I are meant to be. We love the great state of Kentucky and it has always been where we felt the most comfortable, even though we have lived in a couple of other places.

We may have grown up an hour and half east on I-64, but central Kentucky feels like home.

The community has been great, welcoming my family and I with open arms. In just a short time I have met so many great people who care so much about Jessamine and Clark counties.

We definitely feel this is a special place. As an “Olympic-caliber optimist” (to quote fellow newspaper contributor Erin Smith), I truly feel this community is poised for growth and has a very bright future.

Maybe I see things through rose-colored glasses, but I don’t know any other way to approach life.

I am very proud of our accomplishments here at The Journal in just a few short months and the future looks even brighter.

The awesome staff deserves the credit as they are the ones who do all the real work. I am just blessed enough to steer the bus a little bit.

For me, the focus over the next year will include:

> Creating a positive culture and environment in the building

> Strengthening many bonds and partnerships within our community

> Refocusing our content on Jessamine County news

> Strengthening the opinion page and adding contributing columnists so that the newspaper and the community can share a variety of voices

>  Starting a Closer Look series to feature in-depth reporting on critical topics

> Continuing to grow Jessamine Life lifestyle magazine

> Revamping a host of niche products, including launching our Progress edition that became the newspaper’s most successful single publication of all time

Our goal remains the same as it always was: To make incremental progress, creating a better newspaper each and every day to serve our readers.

No one can keep time from ticking by in a flash but that is just fine as long as we keep having fun.

Michael Caldwell is publisher of The Jessamine Journal and Jessamine Life magazine. He can be reached at (859) 469-6452 or by email at mike.caldwell@jessaminejournal.com.