Just a few minutes ago, as I sat here with my laptop responding to e-mails and constructing a blog post, I noticed that the date in the lower right hand corner of my screen says 6/6/2020... It took a bit to sink in, but when it did, I got excited!!
You see, today marks 5 months since I quit smoking! And I am going to shout my stats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This quit is the first EVER where I have gone this long without smoking even one cigarette.
To put this into perspective, I smoked my first cigarette in 1958 and my last on 01/06/2020. (The first one I bummed off my boyfriend, at age 15.)
From these dates you cannot only see that I'm somewhat of an old lady but also that smoking has been a part (a major part) of my life for about 62 years. And..... during a great share of that time, I was smoking 2 packs per day!
As of today, I am 152 days free of those nasty-nasties and had I kept smoking, I would have inhaled 2,280 of those obnoxious things during these past five months. (I had reduced my intake the past year or so down to 10 per day.)
During those 6-plus decades of smoking, cigarettes brought wrath upon my body: premature aging, periodontal disease, emphysema, heart disease, high blood pressure and clogged arteries (especially the ones going to my brain.)
These health issues are the major reasons I chose to quit. (although wanting to smell better also played a part)
As I went into my quit, it was suggested I write a farewell letter to cigarettes to help solidify the "deal"- here is that letter:
https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/people/SuzyQ411/blog/2020/01/03/goodbye-forever?sr=search&searchI...
Although I remain committed to my quit, I will be honest and say there have been times when it's been difficult, when the craves seem relentless, and when I've briefly considered going back.
But, I've remained steadfast as I have made a solemn commitment to quit.
And, to maintain this commitment, I have a precious palm-sized wooden cross that I "work" as one would use a worrying stone, when I'm tempted to smoke. Furthermore, I have put this cross up as collateral. Just as a person would lose their house should they put it up as collateral and then default on the loan, should I go back to smoking I will lose this precious cross as well.
My idea for the use of a collateral came from Giulia's blog post /blogs/Giulia-blog/2013/09/10/how-precious-is-your-quit?sr=search&searchId=d354a6f3-5109-47fc-adb7-5... And it's been the BIG difference this time around.
I will close by asking -- in a supportive and caring manner -- "Just how precious is you quit?"
those words were in ninja turtles games he played lol 
