~~Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, and the things you never want to lose.~~ From The Wonder Years
June 4, 2013. My quit date. To me, more important than celebrating my birthday. More important than celebrating my divorce. More important than celebrating my college graduation day.
Because my quit date is about the day I decided to save my own life. The day I decided that I was worth it. The day I decided that I would never, ever go through day 1 of a quit again.
So I celebrate. As I hope you do. If you are getting ready to quit, go all out!! Invite family and friends to a party in your honor. Remember the feelings you are feeling.....hope, courage, and confidence. Remind yourself that your quit is the start of something so ridiculously good you can't contain it!! Balloons.....streamers.....and gifts, plenty of gifts!! And throughout the day remember that what you are doing is right and positive and in NO way horrible. Because of course those negative thoughts will creep in. Your brain will be trying to maintain what it knows. Nicotine. But it can and it will be happy that you quit. Just give it time.
If you have already quit, I hope you celebrate your quit date with as much pomp as possible. The day your life began. The day the smoke cleared. The day you began to treasure yourself as the amazing person you are! The days of smoking may fade but your quit date should forever remain a reminder of how brilliant you are and how courage you have become.
If it was simply a matter of putting down cigarettes, everyone would do it. It's so much more than that. It's cutting free of the bonds of addiction. It's knowing you want to live and knowing it has to be smoke free. It's recognizing that you can and you did and you will continue to be so much more than a cigarette.
So celebrate your quit day. Honor it and honor yourself. Respect it and respect yourself. Never look back and never, ever regret loving yourself enough to stop smoking. It is not a death sentence, even though the beginning days may be rough. It is the day you are truly born into who you are meant to be. Not a slave to addiction but a warrior truimphant after battle.
I hope this is someone's quit day........Sheri
