I think I've hit a breakthrough in my quit.

I was thinking the other day about New Year's Eve and planning my adventures for the evening. (They involve pizza, pajamas, and The Twilight Zone marathon on Syfy.) I was remembering last New Year's Eve and recalling how I spent most of the day smoking as many cigarettes as I could in preparation for my quit the next day. I thought about how I spent the last moments of 2018 smoking my last cigarette, which I extinguished at 11:59pm just as the fireworks were starting in my neighborhood. And I realized something...

For the first time, I didn't feel any type of nostalgia for my former habit. All I felt was relief that I don't have to deal with it this year!

I won't spend the entire day running outside (into the freezing cold) to light up every 15-30 minutes.

I will be able to watch an entire episode of The Twilight Zone without taking a smoke break.

My pizza will taste SO much better now that my taste buds aren't dulled by smoking.

My pajamas will smell like fabric softener rather than a dirty ashtray.

I won't feel the rising panic as the day winds down and my quit day draws closer.

I won't have a literal panic attack as I stub out my very last cigarette.

I will be with my husband at midnight instead of outside on my porch. (And I'll get a New Year's kiss this year, because my breath won't stink like cigarettes.)

In short, this New Year's Eve will be something to look forward to rather than to dread. Isn't that wonderful?

I don't miss smoking. Not at all! I love being a non-smoker!