I want to take a moment to get my soap box again.... (oh look it has a reserved sign with my name on it!) I have to say my e-mail has been blowing up like crazy over the past couple of days, 19 of them if I check my quit calculator on my phone. I have to say to each and every person that has ever left me a comment that I bow to you and with a reverent THANK YOU.
Many years ago I gave up drinking. Now being Irish I have to say that drinking came to me like breathing, naturally and right from the womb. After waking up from a drunken stupor one morning/afternoon sometime when the sun was up telling me I overslept I realized my life was going down the drain like an express elevator to Hell. I quit drinking and even went to meetings. I felt the warmth and love in those meetings and I did find the strength to straighten up my life. What I find different with this site is that even though I don't see each and every persons share face to face I feel it when I read their posts. I feel it when I read responses. This like a nation wide share and I love it.
The funny thing about addicts,at least from my perspective, is that we all develop a defense mechanism when we give up something we were enslaved to. When I gave up drinking I started using a lot of gallows humor to get me through the rough spots. I started watching M*A*S*H and began the Honorary Hawkeye Pearce School Of Stress Management. Granted Martinis were not on the menu but the practical jokes were. As I have given up smoking, for good that is, I feel like my new defense mechanism is this website. I find it amazing that I can sit down here and start typing away and the next thing I know I have what appears to be a slightly cohesive, somewhat legible form of a rant, rave, kvetch, or what ever depending on your taste and it gets these overwhelmingly beautiful responses. I have to be honest. I have never been a big fan of the blogosphere (that word has that seedy back alley tone to it). I am however finding that for every day I get on here and I put something down I lay my head down more peacefully and without having to use someone as a stress doll. I wake up late afternoons (I work night people we do actually sleep sometime) and I read some responses that make me just laugh.
A great person once said "Make em laugh". I always liked "Walk around smiling they will wonder what you did." I have to say that if laughter is the best medicine well it works. Every funny response I read has me laughing and coughing up more of the remnants of my past life. So for as theraputic as my rants are for me so are all of your responses.
Now I wanted to send this to each and every person, but I started doing the math and ran out of fingers, then toes and I concluded that there are TON of you all out there. So I figured if my blogs all bring the boys to the yard then this was the easiest way for me to really thank every one. I feel blessed knowing that I have the love of my beautiful wife and the support I get from on here to give me all the strength I need to be true to my quit. So once again I say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU I love you all.
Peter
