One year old today

[Sarah]

This is a big F*** YOU to my previous life.

 

Never smoking again, never be a victim again.

 

 

I'll probably be single forever as clearly I'm a total train wreck of a person, so I should probably get a cat.

[JackiMac]

Cats are good Sarah just not too many!!, Their love is unconditional no complications, men are just confusing xx, but on the other hand 1 year is fantastic, as I said before I remember your first post back last year, and the internal turmoil you were going through at that time, look at you now, a strong independent woman, and just for the record you don't need a man to complete who you are my lovely congratulations on reaching one year and thank you for sharing your journey xxx

[ArmedNAruba]

Congrats on your one year Sarah. It IS a big deal.

 

If you can do this, you can do anything.

 

 

 

And you'll find the right one..... when you're not even looking. :)

[Pippa]

Did someone say cats ??

 

Congrats my lovely on a fabulous year .... You have proved how strong you are and we all love you for it !

 

Give yourself time to heal and I know that special person will come when you are ready ... In the interim there are lots of cats here to keep you company

 

Love ya sweetie xx

[larklibby]

well done and inspires me to kick on hard! - thanks!

[action]

I thought you WERE a cat...

 

Huge congrats my friend - You are awesome :d

 

PS knew you would do it

[Doreensfree]

Our beautiful Sarah has joined the drunkens on the lido....cheers....

You are a insperation sweetheart....you stood strong through some real crappy times....

Your free....of both....go and have a great life....your the boss....

And if mr right just happens to come along....thats ok too.....no second best....your worth it....

Hugs Sarah.....xx

[Tink]

Ok the cat bit cracked me up, the train wreck not so much as we know you are not!

 

Congratulations Sarah keep roaring tiger x

[Humbled]

Congrats Sarah - you have taken your life back - you got rid of the crap in your past - single isn't terrible either - as soon as you stop looking 

 you will be found and pursued instead - for now celebrate and enjoy what you have accomplished all on your own!!

[Devil Doll]

Hell yes Beauty you did it!! Congratulations on your first (of many) year smoke free!! It's funny how your self perceived "trainwreck" self inspired a whole bunch of quits.... I'd say your not the mess that you think ;)

Ohh get a dog instead, lol.

:wub: luv ya!!

[Still winning]

What's this train wreck you speak of?

 

Even in what you considered to be weak times, I have only seen a strong woman taking control back of her life. We all wobble sweetheart, all, but it's ok as long as we're moving forward and you have consistently done that. Men are great, but only the right ones for you...there's time. Enjoy who you are first and find your feet.

 

Your quit is as beautiful as your soul, welcome to the lido deck!! I knew you would make it from your very first post :) I love your fun side and I adore you pretty lady. Wonderful!!

 

Are you celebrating?

 

x

[Sarah]

A mental trainwreck due to my inability to have anyone want to have anything to do with me.

 

But thanks for the nice comments

 

Xxx

[robert]

First of all congrats on the big one year ...

 

I'll probably be single forever as clearly I'm a total train wreck of a person, so I should probably get a cat.

You'll be okay. We really only need to worry about the ones who don't know that they are a trainwreck.  :)  Enjoy being single -- many married folks wish that they were free.

[Runfree]

Congrats on your One Year Sarah.  

 

Cats vs Men....both leave their sh*t laying around for you to pick up.  The choice is yours :)

[buMbLeB]

Two things have been made clear:

1. You have done something wonderful. You have struggled, and persevered, and conquered a stupid and powerful addiction that was trying to kill you. You are to be congratulated and admired.
2. Jackie and RunFree know exactly nothing about cats. 

 

I can't really fix #2 in a reasonable amount of time, so let me just say congratulations, and welcome to the lido deck (even though I don't know why it's called that). As a personal tribute to your triumph - even in spite of being a quit train train wreck - I leave you with one of my all-time favourite tunes. I don't know who chose the video, but I think you'll like it.

 

[Mike.]

-snip-

... and welcome to the lido deck (even though I don't know why it's called that).

 

It became a colloquialism on these forums, from where "Gold", (one year of smobriety), was conceptualized as being on a cruise ship:

 

http://ffn.yuku.com/topic/169/Freedoms-Original-Gold-Club#.VTAQJjeVvRY

 

And further reinforced by Bob's post:

 

ORIGINALLY BY OBOB-GOLD FREEDOM MEMBER-WHYQUIT.COM

 

So, I start reminiscing a bit about the early days of my quit. I remember members popping in to post their celebration threads. Green, Bronze, Silver, Gold and beyond. It felt downright intimidating. Here was I, with my seemingly tiny little insignificant sum of 3 days, 4 days, 5 days and so on... clinging to my quit like a man clinging to a life line thrown over the side of a ship to a man overboard in a turbulent sea. More comfortable ex-smokers would roll past on their skiff, yachts and cruiseliners, each with the same advice. Keep climbing that rope. Don't let go of it. It'll get easier. We promise.

 

To me, those people seemed like heroes. From my perspective, they were superhuman, with this gift of comfort I couldn't hardly imagine at that point. I dreamed of being like them some day, but it seemed hard to fathom that this splintery rope would really get me there. It was hard, and I was tired. But, I really wanted to be like those amazing people, and everyone of them told me the same thing… keep climbing, don't let go. Simple. A real slog, but simple.

 

So, I took their advice, kept climbing and didn't let go. Lo and behold, it was true. It did, in fact, get easier, and easier. There was the odd bit of rope burn, and occasionally a seagull would take aim at my dome with an unwelcome gift (nobody takes a metaphor to the extremes I will), but all-in-all, it got more and more doable, less and less of a chore, and at some point, almost without noticing it, I found myself reclining on the Lido Deck with the others. That was years ago now. I've been kicking back up here for a good long time now, and I can tell you it's very nice.

 

So, what's my point? My point is to you, the newcomer. Down there on the rope. Yeah, you. You're looking up at me (and the others who have so much time under their belts), and thinking, "man, that guy's almost surreal. Maybe he's got something I don't. How in the world did he get up there? Surely, he didn't take this blasted rope?! He must have some secret that I don't. He's gotta have supernatural powers to have such comfort."

 

My point to you is this: Every one of us up here got here the same way. We took the rope. We climbed it. We didn't let go. And, just like we were told, it got easier. You will also get here that way.

 

Three years ago, I was where you are. Everyone here has been there at one time. We understand what you're going through. Nobody here is a superhero. We're just addicts like you who found the rope earlier. And, we can each promise you… the rope is climbable, it does get easier, and there IS a place for you up here.

 

There's one other way in which we're similar. Neither of us have wings. We let go the rope, or step off the side, we all plummet to the abyss the same way. One puff and it's all history. I learned that on my way up too. People who'd seemed almost unreal they were so comfortable, for no reason that I could understand, suddenly got up from their comfortable seats, walked to the side of the deck, and threw themselves off.

 

Breaking the metaphor, so that it's perfectly clear, they took a puff and lost their freedom. Some of these were members who had been very active in supporting others, and had experienced months and even years of sustained comfort. One day, for their own reasons, they decided to chance it, and lo and behold their comfort was gone. They returned to their old levels of smoking, often more. I know this is true from email, and from the time when Freedom's policies were different and relapsed members were allowed to rejoin. All it took was one puff, and it was over.

 

So, while it may be tempting to look at some of the longer term quitters with awe, consider that we are, and always will be subject to the same rules you are. One puff = all puffs. If I were to slip down to the pub right now, walk up to a friend, and take a drag off of his cigarette, I know full well that I would be out on my deck tomorrow night with a pack and an ash tray putting memories of Freedom and this post and everything I've given myself over the past 3 years in a deep hidden locker that my junky side would work overtime to prevent me from opening.

 

Why is it important to point out that, with respect to nicotine addiction, you and I are the same, just separated by a bit of time? I guess because it's tempting for a new quitter to allow himself or herself to believe that all of these people dispensing education and encouragement here, couldn't possibly understand what they're going through. It may be tempting to listen to your own junky mind telling you, "You're different. These people aren't like you. They don't understand what you're experiencing. You know that you'll never be able to be like them. It's impossible for you."

 

My long-winded, metaphorically-extreme point is to tell you that that's bunk. While you are different from me in many ways, our addiction to nicotine is the same. You will find comfort (emphasis on WILL) just as I and every other long-term member of Freedom did (by never taking another puff), and you WILL maintain that comfort the same way we all must (by never taking another puff).The factor that really shows the addiction is not how hard or how easy it is to quit. What really shows the addiction is how universally easy it is to go back. One puff and the quit can go out the window."

[El Bandito]

Great work Tiger!

 

Welcome to the Lido deck.

 

As for the rest. Patience grasshopper. Learn to love yourself. The rest will follow.

[Nancy]

So proud of you, Sarah!!  One year is fabulous, and there are no train wrecks on the Quit Train!!!

[Markus]

Well done and congrats on your 1st year of smobriety!

 

It the big one..so celebrate it!

 

what Nancy wrote...+1

 

xxxx

 

markus

[BAT]

Congrats on the Big One Sarah  :)

[Raya]

Congratulations. It appears you have worked through many things and are to be honored today . Congratulations .

         Perhaps now you are done with smoking   perhaps a talent  you have , needs some particular paying attention to. Perhaps its time to let that grow as well . Now you have quit there is nothing you can't do . Its one day at a time . I'll be excited to learn what hidden talent , or  what hidden goals you have inspiration to achieve now . Go get em .

[Sarah]

I want to write some kind of speech now, but I don't have the words for it. So I'll just do my usual level of sophistication. You're all awesome, I genuinely have my life to thank to all of you in some measure. I was reading through some of my old posts earlier and trying to remember who the person was writing them. Its not me. It was someone else. I'm not sure I'm better now, but definitely different.

 

So I still like shoes and bags and frilly knickers but I no longer allow myself to just exist in the world, I live it now.

[queen greenlover]

Congrats on this first big anny, this one will always be special.

[bakon]

harrras----ment      good job on quit......train wrecks are bats business

 

being crazy is ok here but the cat thing is not good idea

 

you know they poop in a box?

then play with it for ten minutes

then walk on your table and pillows

 

would eat you if you died and they didn't have food

 

plus that scratchy tongue...men are a better pick than a cat

 

but women are even better pick because they smell good. At least the CCC members do.

 

wish you many more years as successful as this one.

 

 

 

 

[Tink]

Hell yes I vote you go traveling! You are young, life is an adventure You have time to do all the boring responsible stuff later on seriously get packing :)

 

If you do, research companies that do group packages it's safer than going it alone x