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Sallysmoker b ( cindy b ) 15 Years Quit, Find Your Reason...
Repost of @sallysmoker b. , Quit January 22, 2002
15 years quit: “What advice do you offer a brand-new quitter?”
15 years? I NEVER thought I would get here!!!!
Thank you 1q2 for that repost. I have not read it since I wrote it so long ago. But as I read it again, I do believe it is true then and now. Those baby steps were so tiny then, and so clumsy. I would cry often, and like a little toddler, was afraid to get to far away from the firm hands that held mine- my friends on the Q. I LIVED here! I am not sure I really felt like a non-smoker until after I hit that 1 year anniversary. And then I could smile, look back, and REALLY acknowledge that I did it!!!
I used to have a profile, but it was lost when the Q switched over. 7 months before I quit, I lost my brother suddenly. One month before I quit, my father was on a ventilator with a rare pulmonary infection. He had only smoked in college--not any longer, and he suffered on a respirator. He almost did not survive. But he did, and one day a week or so after he got home from the hospital, weak and frail, he called me and asked me to come visit. I did, and he begged me to quit smoking. He offered to send me somewhere for help, as I had tried everything I could find to quit before. I was always looking for the magical medicine or tool that could help me quit without going through the withdrawal. I never found it, so my quits never stuck. But when I saw my father cry and offer to mortgage their home, I gave in. I promised him I would--in my time, an in my way. I was not a happy quitter, but I refused to break a promise. That was my reason, and I held on.
I can't tell you what your reason is to quit supporting Big Tobacco. But I know you have one. All of us do. Make it your reason for living, for getting through the hard days, the weak days. Make it your purpose to not pay anyone's salary in the tobacco industry, as they are slowly losing their battle to keep us smoking. BUT, they are finding unique ways of getting around the smoking, and are targeting our young smokers with so many gimmicks.
The Q was my lifeline. 1q2, Nicless, wortner, leejay, dayupper, and so many others saved my life by holding my hand. Stay strong quitters. Find your reason. Write it down and put it on your mirror and your wall so you are constantly reminded. And know that you CAN do this!
Biggest hugs to all,
Sallysmoker Cindy
Life gained back!!!!! 2Y 3M
$20,546 Money saved
109,580 Unsmoked
and 15 years quit!!!!!!
sallysmoker b
