This was typed before my father arthur died this past Tuesday at 5pm.
for anyone that might live close or around shawnee,oklahoma his funeral is going to be tuesday aug,4,09
he was tragically hit by a car while he was cycling.
thanks,
samantha
Just recently I had the pleasure of saying,
"I just quit, sorry."
Following the advice of my Doctor and about a zillion friends I set a date and prepared my house to quit smoking. All the ashtrays got washed, stacked and hauled out to the garage. The snuffers went too I only kept the incense burners in the house. In a few different places I set out some cups of pens and pencils to keep my fingers occupied and did all the laundry.
All of it.
I didn't do the walls and windows though
first - I didn't think of it
and
second - I'm too lazy to scrub the whole house.
I didn't make my target date.
No need to let that set me back, I'd been preparing myself mentally for the struggle of a lifetime and it's not like I'd really lost any traction on the plan to quit, a late start is better than no start. I had planned to quit on a Monday and let my cigarettes run out but then I broke down smoked two or three cigars. Tuesday I bought cigars. Wednesday morning I finished the back half of the last cigar and haven't picked up a smoke since. I still think I can claim that as an extra day but my daughter refuses to count it as a smoke free day.
I'm still the winner, I quit smoking.
Let's see if we can replace an old bad habit with time spent on new good habits. For instance, in the garden I didn't ever smoke much anyway so it's a good place to spend some time when I'm feeling vulnerable. I don't miss smoking there and I always pick up a tool and do something so it's win/win. I've always been into bicycling so I'm biking quite a bit too, it's hard to miss smoking with the wind in your face and a German Shepard chasing you up the road. :)
Maybe for some (like me) it's important to acknowledge that the benefits of quitting go far beyond the well known effects on health. Smoking tobacco appears to affect not only the quantity of life but distorts the quality of life out of reasonable proportion. I notice that none of us are addressing the costs in social standing, peer associations and general public perception of tobacco users. If you smoked in High School you were a "bad kid" maybe even a "rebel" but whichever way you leaned you were certainly an outcast from the mainstream "nice people". It's practically automatic, I've long thought tobacco is the real gateway drug.
I guess I've been a little bit of a pest of in the GUS diaries because I can't help commenting on how good food tastes now. For several days after my last smoke all I could smell and taste was the nicotine and tars in my sinuses. -yech. I'd say I spent the first week marveling at the nastiness I've been putting up with for so long. Now my second week without tobacco has been a joy. Old foods are new again, new foods are amazing, my sinuses are clear and that old sore throat is gone.
"Quitting Smoking May Be Beneficial To Your Health"
That Surgeon General guy may be on to something.