At elvan's suggestion (thanks, Ellen), I'm trying out the blog. I do need a place where I can write my way through this, and, with luck, get and give support along the way.
My quit day is Tuesday. I'm preparing mostly by reading (mostly resources here), learning, creating trigger plans, and thinking through which routines will need to be altered. I worry about mornings most. The morning routine is to grab the auto-brewed coffee, head outside to my little smoking area in the garage, and smoke until I've shaken off the fog.
It seems to me that the few minutes right after waking are the most vulnerable. They certainly have been for me in the past. I'm curious what has helped others who found mornings to be a weakness. One thing I think I'm going to do is make tea instead of coffee, and fire up the laptop to check in with the Ex community immediately.
I am an anxious person. My shoulders are always up around my ears. I struggle to be calm and relaxed. So, another thing I've done the past three days is begin a practice of meditation. I downloaded the Calm app and began setting aside about 30-45 minutes each evening to do 15 minutes of Pilates, 5 minutes or so of gentle stretching, and then 10-15 minutes of meditation. It's a cool app, and I recommend it. (This is saying a lot coming from me; I am NOT a meditative sort, and I've never once been even remotely tempted to try it.) I've started with a Beginner's Journey, which is a few minutes of meditation each day for 7 days. It's a nice way to dip the toes in and learn how to relax, focus, and calm the body and breath. I noticed they have master classes on various topics. The first class on addiction is free, so I've also listened to that. The "Daily Calms" are great as well. It's a combination of a few minutes' meditation followed by a short message on topics like resilience, courage, etc.
I'm both excited and nervous. I so want this to work. Thanks to all of you for boosting my confidence, and that of others, with your suggestions and encouragement.
-Dawn
