Memoirs of a quitter
As I wrote my column for this week's North Stoddard Countian I began thinking about what a good blog topic that would make. After a little research I also found that I was no longer missing from the Statesman blog world, but have been presumed dead since this most recent sabbatical began.
On to my point...with plenty of new things to talk about, I want to take this opportunity to share my newest endeavor.
As I write this I'm on day 14. It's been 14 days now since I crushed out what I have sworn will be my last cigarette. The time to quit smoking has definitely been a long time coming.
Since a smoking-related medical scare earlier this year I've sworn that it was time to quit. Well, that accompanied with the constant reminders from my oldest daughter that "those things are going to kill [me]."
I've tried several times over the years and for one reason or another always picked the stupid things back up.
This time I'm convinced that's not going to happen and vowed to do it right instead of just stopping on the spur of the moment.
There are several things I'm doing differently this time.
To start with, I planned several days in advance to have some time to get prepped mentally.
Second, my sweetheart agreed to quit with me. Teamwork makes everything easier. That way if one of us slips we know the other will be there to shame us back into the world of reformed smokers. Her patience and support have been a huge help because I'm sure I wouldn't be doing this well on my own.
Third, I've told every one I know, including a couple thousand I don't know by writing this column. That's another effort to help shame myself into it.
As much as I expected it to be tough, it really hasn't been so bad this time.
With the exception of day one. Day one was a nightmare.
Waking up in the morning, typically a tough time for me, passed fairly easy, but that was the only thing easy about that day.
Because we don't smoke in the house, every time I walked out the door it hit me. Every time I climbed into my truck. Every time I snacked. And I snack a lot.
But, and this is a big but, it has gotten considerably easier every day. The cravings still come, and while they seem even stronger, they come less frequently and keep getting shorter.
Food tastes very different. Things smell different. Cigarettes smell absolutely awful now and I apologize to anyone I might have smelled that way around over the years.
I've also found that no matter what I do, I can't get that smell out of my Jeep. I keep a can of air freshener in the console and spray it regularly, but it still smells pretty raunchy.
On a side note, I feel physically better already. My cough has all but disappeared and I feel like my breathing is getting better. Not to mention my checkbook is healing nicely.
At 30 bucks per carton and a carton each per week, well, you do the math. It's insane to spend a new truck payment just to kill yourself each month.
Well, I'm going to wrap this up because I didn't want to preach to anyone. I just felt like the more people I told the easier it would be to keep it up.
So, if I slip up and any of you notice me doing it, this is me giving you permission to slap me in the back of the head.
Ever tried to quit before? Any tips???
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