As I write this, it is 3:06 a.m. on October 27, the morning 331 plastic surgery nurses will attend opening ceremonies at ASPSN's 32nd Annual Convention in Baltimore. I can't say what a disappointment it was to me to miss this meeting. "Life Happens," and I am recovering from an unexpected surgery. It would have been my last meeting as the editor of this journal and it would have been a special opportunity for me to shake a lot of hands, offer a lot of hugs, and thank so many of you for your support over the years.

My journey with the journal started soon after I attended my first convention in 1988. I met Joyce Black there, who faithfully edited this journal for 25 years. As was her style, she sought out the new ASPSN members at all the meetings, met me, and immediately started encouraging me to write for the journal. She was an excellent cheerleader and mentor of new authors. It was soon after I met her that I began to write short articles on Patient Education topics, and she invited me to write regularly as the Patient Education department editor. Fast forward 10 years, and Joyce was working on her PhD in Nursing and needed some help with the journal. I took on the role as an associate editor for several years. I "retired" from that role once, but as often happens in this organization, I was brought out of retirement to edit the journal, for volumes 25-27. It was only 12 issues, but it seems like a lot more than that. It is incredulous to me that Joyce hung in there and edited 100 issues. I can't imagine how many sleepless nights she had. I have great respect for all of the work that Joyce did for the organization and the journal.

During my tenure as editor, I was very fortunate to have the support of Jeanne Prin Wyatt, my associate editor, for the first year. I still maintain that no one can write an editorial as well as Jeanne does!! She was a reliable contributor, and always fair and cheerful. She was a true role model and friend.

I want to recognize my editorial board. Joanne Gladfelter faithfully wrote the Management Department and never missed an issue. She frequently contributed feature articles for the journal, which was above and beyond her responsibility. Stefanie Dinman wrote the Pharmacy Department. As a nurse practitioner, she was always aware of the current issues in pharmacy that were pertinent to nurses. Stefanie was instrumental in recruiting manuscripts for the journal, especially for the focus issues. Dawn Maksud Sagrillo and Sue Kunz have written the popular Journal Club department. They came up with the idea for this ongoing feature for the journal and have kept it rolling for years. Rachelle Springer has written the Taking the OR to the Office department. Shelly was always early for deadlines. She has special expertise in preparing surgical centers for AAAA inspection. She had amazing contacts within the professional community, and was always able to solicit great manuscripts for the journal. Susan Eastman was formerly the editor of the Wound Care Department, and her e-mail name of "woundqueen" couldn't be more descriptive. She is truly the expert. Our legal expert, Theresa Wisk, RN, JD, wrote the Legal departments out of sheer kindness and a willingness to give back to the nursing community. I've known Theresa for 20 years, and when I asked her to write for us, she didn't hesitate. Margo Bloomberg, one of my coworkers at William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, was a very frequent contributor to the Media Reviews department. I always appreciated her honest assessment of media portrayals of plastic surgery. She graciously wrote numerous columns, just because I asked. All of these professionals are volunteers, and I could never thank them enough.

Thanks to all of these department editors and all of the authors that I have gotten to know over the years. I would e-mail back and forth with an author for months, and never get to meet him or her face to face. I've made countless friends through Plastic Surgical Nursing journal. I also want to thank my colleagues at Lippincott. Kathleen Phelan, our publisher, was always encouraging and supportive. I'll never forget when our convention was in Philadelphia and Kathleen hosted our editorial board meeting at the Lippincott corporate offices.

Over the years, I had three editorial assistants who were really the backbone of the journal: Maureen Howard, Sherry Glenn, and Donna Caldwell. Although I never met them face to face, they became cherished coworkers and part of my e-mail family. Thanks especially to Donna, for your cheerful e-mails, attention to detail, and for making this last year and a half a lot less stressful.

I plan to continue to practice nursing in Suite 100 at William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, which is the outpatient surgical center for plastic surgery. I will keep writing and editing papers, but mostly my own work. My own writing interest has been making poems, and hope that I quickly get reacquainted with my creative muse!!

Thanks to all of you for everything. Keep writing!!