The weekend went better than I expected...then...

[laura2]

I'm still in my preparation stage here and was feeling fairly smug about it. My usual pace is about a pack and a half per day and on Saturday...a half pack; Sunday...a half pack. Today...I got up and fixed coffee, watched the news and the weather and was doing fine until I hit the computer with tons of work to get done.

I've smoked a little over half a pack and still have the whole evening ahead of me. And I still want another freakin' cigarette! This is my last carton...all a part of my plan. If the carton doesn't last until Thanksgiving Day, I'll just have to quit before then. I will not buy another pack of cigarettes.

After sending my original email to my son (my first blog post here), I got a reply and cried. Here is the email I received from my son....

THANK YOU MOM!!!
That's the best gift you could give me (and yourself)!!!
I can't tell you how much that means to me. I've worried myself sick about the thought of you smoking more than a few times so I can't tell you how relieved I am just to know that you WANT to quit. It's one thing to want to quit for someone else but to quit for your own sake means a lot more!
I'm proud of you for so many reasons and I'm blessed to have a Mother like you. You inspire me and I'm just now catching on to the gifts that you have bestowed on me because of your upbringing.


I love you and this makes me happy to no end!!! :):):):)!!!


You see why I HAVE to quit?

Thanks for all your help, everyone. I'm truly grateful.

[betty15]

Wow you did a wonderful job of bringing up your son to have him respect you the way he does. Now I would say it's time for you to respect yourself enough to let go of your addiction. I haven't read any of your other posts so I don't know if you have a plan or not but if you don't get yourself one. As I've read through so many blogs on here there is so much support and wisdom. Read, read and read some more. It will help motivate you as it's helped to keep me motivated. Just think how great it will be next time you get to hug your son to have him smell you and not the cigarettes you've smoked! Give a shout if you ever want to talk.

[becky16]

Your son is your biggest support! He certainly loves you very much and now you can show him how much you love him and yourself. YOU CAN DO THIS!!! You just need the mindset.....the determination and stubborness to do it!! You have to want to not smoke, more than you want to smoke. This is a choice.....You Have the POWER to CHOOSE.....Use WISELY Your POWER of CHOICE!! What a wonderful present to your son.....look how much he wants this for you!! I'm here to support and give you encouragement if you need it.....Hugggs!!

[ellen5]

Hey, Laura, you don't HAVE to quit. Why wouldn't you want to? It's an addiction and once you get through the withdrawal, you'll be fine. It is NOT so awful, trust me and the millions who have quit already. I suggest Allan Carr's book, the Easyway to Quit Smoking. You may find it helpful....OR you could watch Michael Patterson's video about suffering from emphysema. That keeps me from puffing on a butt.

[Sandi4]

Laura...you are so blessed. What a wonderful, loving son you have. You're giving him such a beautiful gift...more years with you. I know you can do this. YOU know you can do this. You've got a whole team cheering you on, lead by your son. Choose to be free. You've done it before and you can do it again. This time for good.

[hwc]

My daughter, who was a senior in college at the time, has no idea that she was the most supportive inspiration in my quit. The tone of her voice when I told her on about day 3 that I had quit said it all. She was so happy. Like your son.

[hwc]

BTW, Laura... you are at the stage where thinking about quitting is much, much harder than actually quitting will probably be. That's the big catch-22 of this whole business.

Quitting smoking is actually pretty easy. A child could do it. In fact most people live every day without even thinking about smoking. But, those junkie thoughts tie us up in knots from the fear of quitting.