MarylandQuitter

I was ten years old and my parents were recently divorced. Time were tough and money was tight. My Mom let my brother and I pick out one thing from the JCPenney catalog and I chose a Philadelphia Eagles watch. Not sure why I chose that specific team, but I suppose I liked the colors. This was the most special gift because even at 10 years old, I knew how hard my Mom had to work to buy that watch for me. I knew how much it meant to her that I was able to get it. Sadly, that watch is long gone but I remember looking through that thick catalog and how I felt when I opened it Christmas morning.

Yes, Sonic!!! Ravens v Steelers. Couldn't ask for a better game, especially with our season hanging in the balance. Can't wait! Christmas Eve my daughter and I are going to visit some very close friends in Virginia, have dinner hang out, laugh talk etc. This is a friend from high school that I've known for 28 years. Great times as always with them! Then my daughter and I will spend a quiet evening at home, watching some Christmas movies, getting cookies ready for Santa's visit (we made them last night) and then tomorrow morning it will be just her and I; our first Christmas with just us. Last year she was out-of-town with her Mom so I flew solo on Christmas. This is a very special time with her for me. So much has happened in the past couple of years and it's nice to finally be on other side. To sum it up with a few words: Content, calm, quiet and most of all, peaceful. :)

Great post, powerful message!

I'm glad to hear she's still quit and actually, I'm not surprised either. I knew sooner or later she would eventually quit for good and I think this may just be her time to make it stick. She's a very kind and unselfish lady who would give anybody the shirt off her back. I hope at some point she comes back with a lasting quit to provide support to others. :)

I remember when my grandmother died over 30 years ago and we went over to clean her house. I grabbed a roll of paper towels and a bottle of Windex to clean the windows and started with the window in the front door. My white paper towel turned a deep yellow as I wiped that glass. Every window was like this; coated with a thick layer of gunk from her cigarette smoking. Remove a picture from a wall and the wallpaper behind it looked new. Everything had a nasty coating on it. A teenager I was and yet I continued to smoke, not caring at all about what was transpiring before my eyes, not to mention the health problems my grandmother had from cigarette smoking and alcoholism, the last of which was responsible for her early death. Anyway, I don't think I've ever been successful at getting anybody to quit smoking. Everybody that I know who quit smoking did so because they decided they had enough. I don't think I could convince anybody to quit because the addict has to be a part of his/her own rescue.

Merry Christmas and Happy Festivus (for the rest of us)! lol

I wondered all the time when I smoked but don't give it much thought these days. I know one thing is for certain, no matter how I leave this life, I won't be doing so as a smoker. Smoking is very unhealthy; we all know this and most knew it when we lit our first cigarette. No matter the extent of damage done, perhaps some reversible and some not, life is going to go on and I feel that every second I'm alive is a gift. I plan on living forever so there's that too. :dirol:

Welcome, Elsie! I used to be the the best hypochondriac and always had one foot in the grave. Not anymore as I also kicked that habit decades ago. ;)

I'll be praying for your friend, you and the doctors and nurses.

Welcome, Gypsy. :)

I've not seen that but have been looking for another series to get into since I finished Stranger Things and Goliath. I'll have to check it out. :)

NOPE!!

Woot-woot! :dirol:

I like Joe Rogan's and Bill Burr's.

It's hard to believe that in a just a few months we'll be three years old! :)

It's now sitting on my counter, next to my keys and wallet. :)

Evelyn, unless your doctor tells you to keep smoking, you need to quit. I could never tell anybody to continue smoking under any circumstances, ever. Quitting smoking is not going to interfere with antidepressants that you're taking. I've never read that or even heard that and trust me, I've read lots of scientific research on nicotine and it's effects on the brain and there is not one doctor who would tell a patient to continue smoking unless they just didn't give a shit about the person or was sadistic. I've watched a family member suffer for decades with emphysema and his last couple of years he suffered greatly. His last days dying were horrific watch him unable to breathe. I've watched a very close friend live with and eventually die from emphysema and it too was not pretty. This isn't like normal aging that just getting old and "dying from something", it's torture. Quit before it's too late because once you get this (and other smoking related diseases) all you can do is mitigate, at best. If you're trading your commitment to NOPE to a commitment of smoking and somehow thinking that you're doing yourself a favor, then I highly suggest that you spend every waking hour reading about nicotine addiction. Watch these videos right now. Do You Really Need To Want To Quit More Than You Want To Smoke? An often quoted comment is that many people fail to quit or to stay off of smoking because they wanted to smoke more than they wanted to quit. Video discusses how this is not necessarily the reason why people fail in their quits. It is not that they don’t want to quit bad enough, but rather that they don’t understand what they need to do to quit and stay off and what their real options are regarding quitting and smoking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4FlmmeOeoo Smoking A Cigarette Will Help Me Secure My Quit Video discusses how some people can bargain themselves into smoking with the thought that taking a cigarette that tastes bad will reinforce their resolve to stay smoke free. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY6tAeam9Lg&index=41&list=PL4F05C03D0F9B86DB How To Quit Smoking - I'm not suggesting this video as an insult but rather because there are very, very important piece of information that are relevant to your situation. Video lays out simple tips for people wanting to quit smoking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l27zWo7hbcY I Can't Quit Or I Won't Quit Video discusses how anyone can quit smoking but there are people who won't quit smoking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i22AI_prRQI

Evelyn, I'm glad you're venting and have committed to NOPE and refuse to light up. What are you trying to quit, drinking soda as in pop?

I can't believe it's December already! NOPE!

I was going to post exactly the same.

NOPE!

NOPE!

Like most ex-smokers with long quits will oftentimes say, I rarely... https://www.quittrain.com/topic/7743-am-i-protecting-my-quit-are-you/?p=193268