Reciprocity

In Full Party Mode Now!!

NOPE! Anyone caught smoking at the party will have to deal with the No Smoking Brigade!

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Thanks guys for your acknowledgement of this special occasion! Now .............. let's get this party started!!

#2

On the eve of my 1 year quit anniversary I couldn't help be reflect on what brought me to this point. I remember 1 year ago today standing beside my car in the cold and damp, subconsciously reaching into the pocket of my coat for a cigarette. Like the thousands of others that had gone before it, I lit that smoke and took my first drag. I had just finished a coughing fit from the bronchitis I had for all of January 2017 and that first drag on the cigarette launched me into another coughing fit. Struggling to even take a breath after that, it finally dawned on me that what I was doing was completely insane!! That was the moment that literally changed my life. I knew I had to quit smoking! For whatever reason, this event had grabbed my attention. This time it was REAL. I suddenly knew I was no "special flower" who could escape the ugly fate that many years of smoking clearly had in store for me. The next morning at 8:30 AM with no real plan in mind, I had my last cigarette. The days that followed are a murky blur of what I perceived to be at the time, unwelcome feelings and sensations, as my body purged itself of the drug that had been present on a daily basis for over 4 decades. The highs and lows of that first week or so are indescribable to me now. I wish I had kept a blog of it all. I remember feeling like I wanted to crawl out of my own skin at times the anxiety was so pronounced. And the time ....... God Dammit!! Time was standing still! I was trapped in a never ending series of mental and physical withdrawals. I was unsure as to what was happening to me. I was even more unsure whether I could weather this storm I was caught up in. After a week or so of this crazy roller coaster ride, I found this place and signed up. I was welcomed, as all of you have been and was given the first glimmer of hope through the encouragement that others were extending to me. This was good! I started to read and read and read all the pinned posts and a lot of other posts. I watched numerous videos about quitting. This was the perfect distraction for me while my body and mind rebelled against the path I had chosen to take. I was on this site sometimes almost 24/7 it seemed. Sleep patterns were interrupted to say the least so here I was on the site at ungodly hours of my day and night sometimes. Everything I read from these people who had gone before me sounded the same! It was like a broken record, repeating itself over and over. Pledge your NOPE every day. Take smoking off the table. Watch out for the Nicodemon because he will attack you at your weakest moments and try to lure you back to smoking. Every battle you do with the Nicodemon, you get stronger and he gets weaker. This all sounded like some sort of cult like lingo to me. Could I take this seriously? Dare I believe them all? I read some more. I read how the people before them had been telling them the same things. I was ultimately convinced and decided that I too had to abide by the same critical rules if I had any hope of being successful. Blind faith had overcome me and I was all in! From that point onward, I read and read about every phase of my quit. What had others experienced when they were at the stage I was at? 1st month, second through 3rd and fourth months when I was in No Man's Land. What had others experienced and how did they cope? This was what became my guiding light through to the time I finally became aware that I would never smoke again. I would never smoke again by my own free choice because I now knew what smoking really was. It was an addiction. It was my enemy - trying to kill me. It was certainly NOT my friend. And in the end, it's my belief that this is the point one has to reach in order to know you will be permanently quit. You need to be able to gladly choose not to smoke. So on the eve of my 1 year quit anniversary, I don't feel a lot different than what I felt after probably 5 or 6 months quit but, this 1 year landmark is still a very special one because I have weathered the storm through all the 4 seasons and experienced all the temptations I can imagine and I know that providing I just don't ever put another cigarette in my mouth and light it on fire, I will be permanently quit I sincerely hope to be still around and able to help each and every one of you newbies celebrate your own 1 year anniversary celebration (Sorry for the long winded post but ......... I've earned the right to be annoying )

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-1

OO

-18 Not so fast .................

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-1

-1 Hey .... where'd you come from

Practicing for the BIG day

Huge congratulations to you T2B! You are suck a fabulous contributor here on the Train and always lending your full support to others. Tyme to give yourself a pat on the back now though for a job well done! This 1st month is a huge hurtle to get over. Onward and upward now to even better days

Yup +1

NOPE!

OO

fore

OK so, age old question ........... who did you like best? Betty or Veronica?

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Face it head on knowing that smoking is off the table now and you will not only get past it and be proud as hell that you did but, you will have beaten this addiction back into the shadows where it belongs!!! Every battle you win, the stronger YOU get and the weaker the addiction gets. The more challenging the battle is, the more you gain and the more the addiction loses. It's not just one and done. It's a process and it takes time but is very doable if you just take it a bit at a time. Don't look at the long term or big picture. You'll be fine. I have faith in you

Yeah .... where is that scoundrel anyway? Hope he's OK! Not like him to vanish for days at a time.

I'm counting on you to show me around the Lido Deck :(