Well, once again I have taken on the challenge to quit smoking. Last Friday I woke up and just decided that was the day and that's all there is to it. I smoked my final cigarette before the challenge at 11:25 a.m. while heading out to lunch.
This is not the first time I have started down this road, only to fall into a huge pot hole that I refused to climb out of. Several years back I quit successfully for several months until that trip to Las Vegas. Good grief! Have you ever walked through a casino full of smoke when you're trying to quit? To say that I wanted a cigarette would be a major understatement. I tried holding my breath and walking faster through it all to no avail. It was everywhere! Not to mention that those casinos are huge and I certainly would've passed out long before reaching a door and some fresh air. I finally caved. And when I say caved, I mean crumbled like a cave made of toothpicks in a tornado. On the second day there I searched the enormous place and finally located a shop where I promptly laid down $15 for ONE back of cigarettes and a lighter. Heaven forbid anyone might have gotten in my way or someone could've gotten hurt. Oh, and by the way, that lovely $5 Bic lighter stayed in Vegas because I wasn't able to take it onto the plane in my purse. Ugh.
In 2009 I decided to start the journey again. This time for my future grandchildren. My first grandchild was due in January 2010 and I really didn't want to be the grandma that was hacking, coughing and out of breath all the time. I had done pretty good for about 8 weeks or so and then I got the call that Sami was in labor. Well, I'm here to report that the stress and excitement of that morning got the better of me and off to the Kwik-E Mart I went for batteries for the camera and a pack of cigarettes. I smoked myself stupid all the way to the hospital and every chance I had in between contractions. I gained a beautiful granddaughter that day, but I also gained that darned habit back.
It is now March of 2011. I've been having some minor health issues since last fall. So, like most web-savvy folks, I jumped online and headed to Web MD to diagnose myself after not getting anything definitive from my doctor. Researching my various symptoms led to a few different things, but the one that most closely matched had no 'cure'. There were things you could try to alleviate symptoms and flare-ups and of course, quitting smoking and giving up coffee were high on the list. So I thought, what the heck? I'll see if it helps and since both of those things are super-high on my bad habits list, I chose the one that I am restricted, by law, from doing indoors in the state of Illinois.
Today is day four. I will admit that I have cheated. I cannot seem to part with that first one of the day. At this point, I have had three cigarettes since my journey began. Cheating? Yes. But three in four days is better than 40 in the same period of time, which is where the journey began last week.
Baby steps....and prayer. I pray every day that God will help me fend off this evil habit and lead me to a healthier lifestyle.
I am on my way. My health is already improving and my symptoms are fewer. Will I cheat tomorrow? Only God knows. I will kick the smoking habit! Coffee, on the other hand, is here to stay.
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