How quickly we forget

[joe]

  Yesterday was 13 months since my last cigarette....  :)

 

While wrapping presents tonight, my wife asked if I feel any "different" this year than i did last year.

 

After thinking about it for a few minutes, I had to say , that I truly dont remember how bad it REALLY felt last year...

 

Don't get me wrong,..I know I was having cravings every time I turned around and I think to some degree, still going the the "withdraw" process...maybe not physically, but mentally. I am sure my mind was always searching for an excuse to run outside and light up.....BUT

 

to actually remember that it was SOOO unbearable, or painful...I really cant remember...  I do remember that early in my quit it was a struggle..like we all have...but..its now more like a vague memory....

 

So..any of you newbies ou there who are recently quit..or one of you lurkers who are on the fence... The best advise I can give is to jump in with both feet and commit to the quit!!  There will be times that it seems almost impossible, but as time goes on, you will wonder to yourself why you ever even thought that it was impossible to quit!..

 

Just put your mind to it, commit to N.O.P.E. and you will soon find out what I am talking about...What you perceive as "hard" or "painful" is only temporary...the permanent effects from quitting smoking are sooooo much more memorable!!

 

Make that commitment for you and your family this holiday season..

 

Merry Christmas, and Happy new years to everyone!  :)

[Jenny]

It's wonderful isn't it!    The further out you get the harder it is to remember how it feels!  

 

Congrats Joe and Merry Christmas! 

[action]

So true Joe - this will be my second Christmas of freedom, and it almost feels like I don't remember smoking... We were flicking through some photos yesterday and I saw one of me smoking - it was really shocking, I had to double-take!

 

Merry Smoke-free Christmas to all :)

[Nancy]

Beautiful post, dear friend...and so very true!!  Merry Christmas to you and all your lovely ladies!

[El Bandito]

Nice work Joe!

 

13 months- well done

 

Smoking used to dominate my life, then quitting did....then living began to dominate my life.

 

A truism, but the first step is indeed the hardest.

 

Great post.

[MarylandQuitter]

Great message, Joe.  :)

 

I don't remember having a tough time quitting and as I remember it, I instantly noticed that I felt better.  Although I had cravings as I was ridding my lungs, heart, blood and brain of nicotine and tar (+ 6800 other chemicals), I instead focused on how much more calm I was without the constant spike in blood pressure and the huge shot of adrenaline that came with each cigarette.  The Stop Smoking Benefits Timetable is something that grabbed onto and kept it close in the early days.

[Pippa]

Merry Christmas Joe - have a great time with your family :-)

[Doreensfree]

Wow...it's hard to believe now....my whole days were taken up with thinking about my next fix....

A brilliant post...

All the best to you and your lovely family joe

Xxxx

[Tink]

Merry Christmas Joe x

[sharonsiff]

This is so very true Joe.

 

It reminds me of one of my favourite old Take That Songs in the sense of we've come so far, reached so high and looked each day and night in the eye....and although we're as sound as a pound now (ok/doing fabulous) we never forget we're we've come from...the boys sing it better than me.

 

Merry Christmas Joe xx

 

[joe]

This is so very true Joe.

 

It reminds me of one of my favourite old Take That Songs in the sense of we've come so far, reached so high and looked each day and night in the eye....and although we're as sound as a pound now (ok/doing fabulous) we never forget we're we've come from...the boys sing it better than me.

 

Merry Christmas Joe xx

 

 

Merry Christmas to you also....

 

I havent seen you in quite some time..is everything going ok for you and the family?..

 

How is your daughter doing?

[Becca]

I just don't remember how hard it was.  Great post Joe!

[sharonsiff]

Merry Christmas to you also....

 

I havent seen you in quite some time..is everything going ok for you and the family?..

 

How is your daughter doing?

Hi Joe, thanks for asking over our Lucy very thoughtful of you. She is doing great thanks and has only had two panic attacks since August. She recognises when things are brewing now and takes action to prevent a full blow attack. She has spent a lot of time reading posts on forums, by children simular to her age, and that has helped her too. She seems really happy at the moment so that's fabulous. Oh and as a bonus she's all about the grades (school) at the moment and is not getting herself all worked up about the amount of studying she is doing.

 

As a family we are ok, lost Lee's dad then my uncle Alec died a few weeks later. Been extremely sad, as you can imagine, but we are ok as we all have each other which helps enormously.

 

I hope you and you beautiful ladies are all well and I hope your daughter is ok too xx

[Jclarke241]

Wow, 13 months and two Christmas' , good job! What an inspiring post....especially for us newbies!