It's exactly one year today that we relocated to the island and moved into our home.  And.....it's been a very good year.

When I talk to the locals and mention this fact, inevitably each one questions, "Do you still like it here?"  And I emphatically answer YES!  The reason they ask is because, as I've come to learn over the past year, living here is pretty much black and white.....with no gray.  You either love it or you don't.  And no, there's absolutely no perfect place to live.  So even the ones that understand this have come to accept it, while they may not like everything about the island.....they still love it and wouldn't live anywhere else in the world.  And....as many of the For Sale signs prove....many come, find the illusion of living here isn't the reality and they move away. 

For me, I approached living here as I do most things in my life.  With my eyes wide open.  And it hasn't failed me yet.  So for me, there was never an illusion.  I knew in order to go to a movie theater, have a pharmacy, shop in a large department store, wander through a Barnes and Noble or attend a cultural event, I'd have to drive either the 50 minutes to Chiefland or the one hour to Gainesville.  And I accepted that.  A year later, I still accept it.....to me, it's a fair trade off.

I'm usually a huge believer in "omens."  So I'm sure you'll understand my concern when I tell you about a year ago today, when I arrived on the island.  The plan was that Ray stayed with the movers while they loaded up the truck and he'd drive up here, with the cats, after the house was empty.  I left New Port Richey at noon for the 2 hour ride and headed up here with my aunt and Holly.  As I turned off 19 onto SR 24, I pulled over to call Ray on my cell, tell him where I was at and see how much longer he'd be.  SR 24 is the road that leads directly to the island proper.  As I talked to Ray, police cruisers and ambulances zoomed past me, sirens screaming, heading to Cedar Key.  You have to realize not much happens on this island so to see all of this, I could only wonder what was going on. 

As I approached the Number Four bridge, I could see a lot of cars, people and general chaos ahead of me.  I also could see that when I got on the island proper, a thick fog blanketed the island.  Misty, eerie....and as it turned out, deadly. A private plane had been attempting to land at the Cedar Key airport, at the western tip of the island.  With the fog, he must have become disoriented and he crashed into the Number Three bridge....narrowly missing houses and people below.  It was a fatal crash and the talk of the island.  For me....it made me question if perhaps this was an omen....and not a good one.

I'm happy to report a year later....that omen wasn't intended for me.  We had the construction of our porch/lanai and my writers studio completed, we've joined numerous clubs and organizations, we've made a multitude of wonderful friends, we've purchased our plots at the cemetery so we never have to leave here and each day we only more fully realize that moving here was one of the best things we ever did.  Living here has increased my inspiration and creativity, it's made me appreciate and love Mother Nature even more, and it's made me feel extremely blessed.  Yes....it's been a very good year.

• Note:  I'm leaving for a writers conference later today that the Florida Writers Association is sponsoring in Orlando.  It's a full schedule for all day tomorrow and I'm hoping it'll prove beneficial, both with the workshops and the agents that will also be there looking for new writers to represent.  So enjoy your weekend and......

I'll see you on Monday.