This is my last issue as Executive Editor of ADCES In Practice. It seems only yesterday that I stepped into the role in 2012 after 3 years of serving as Editor of the newsletter by the same name. In 15 years, we grew from a newsletter to an awardwinning print journal to our current digital format. It will change again. Change is a vital part of growth. It has kept us relevant and current, and each change was met with excitement and some trepidation on our part because we wanted to be sure we were still meeting your needs. With every change, we remained committed to stay true to our vision to combine the heart, the art, and the science of diabetes care and education, and our purpose was to inspire, inform, and empower you. With that, we aspired to become a preferred and trusted resource for practical tools and strategies that can help you in your day-to-day practice and be a place where you wanted to publish your work. I hope we did that.
But now, after 15 years and 78 issues, I have made the decision to step down. Change is vital to our own growth as well. I have other things I want to do, and by stepping down from AIP, I am making space to more fully focus on those things. Miles Davis says “It’s not about standing still and becoming safe. If anybody wants to keep creating, they have to be about change.” Abraham Maslow said, “In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety.” I choose growth. Author Roy T. Bennett once said, “You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.” Although I will be stepping out of my comfort zone, I know that every time I have done that, I have gained just a bit more courage to go further.
With my leaving, I cannot say what the future will bring for AIP. There will be new leadership—not yet identified at the time of this writing—to carry AIP forward. There has been a decision to move to a quarterly digital format. The rest I don’t know. But I do know you will be in good hands. My stepping down will create space for ADCES to reevaluate what AIP should be going forward. Is it still meeting your needs? Or does it need to be something different? What kind of leadership will be needed to bring AIP into the future? Change is good.
I want you to know what a privilege it has been to serve you and our profession all these years. I can only hope you found what we delivered helpful to you in your daily practice. I know with AIP, many of you have been inspired to become writers. Keep going. You will only get better. Many of you have told me how my words have touched you. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. They have been a source of inspiration. I have deep respect for the work you all do because I have walked in your shoes, and that knowledge has fed me and has been my motivation to keep going all these years. You have been my reason for doing this work, and I thank you.
None of this would have been possible without the best team ever. There has been no lack of passion and tenacity from this editorial board. I want to take this opportunity to thank them. Karol Carstensen, our Associate Editor, and my wing-woman. Thank you for saying yes even though neither of us knew what we were getting ourselves into. Diana Pihos, our connection to all things ADCES, and Makayla Art, our ADCES staff support. I also want to thank Jerry Meece, Department Editor of Capsules and Lorena Drago, Department Editor of Food for Thought. I must point out that Karol, Jerry, Diana, and I have been at this since the inception of the AIP journal. Thank you all!!!! I cannot say enough about your continuing dedication and passion. I will miss our calls and the banter as we discussed what things are top of mind for DCESs. We wanted to always be sure our content met your needs as practitioners. I also want to thank Lauren Lane and the team at Sage Publishing for getting AIP produced and into your hands. Last but not least, I want to thank the ADCES Board of Directors for their ongoing support. All of us have been dedicated to you, our readers, to provide a valuable resource for you and your practice.
Each day, I strive to make just a little bit of a difference with my patients, my colleagues, my family, my friends, and my work. That has driven me with AIP, and that part of me will not change. Making a difference. Growing. Moving forward. It’s all good. Change is good. I find it especially ironic that the theme for World Diabetes Day this month is Diabetes and Well-Being. This change is my way of caring for my well-being. As I sign off for the last time, I remember Mark Twain, who said: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
I’ll see you somewhere out there.