I've tried twice over the last week and a day to leave a message, but Blogger opposed my trials. Hmph! Here's the third try --
I continue to keep my hands busy by playing with paper, and Club Scrap continues to keep that a worthwhile pursuit by their incomparably gorgeous materials.
I am fine. I have not broken down and smoked. One of the Chantix quitters -- an anonymous one, so I shan't break her veil of secrecy -- wrote to me and confessed that she was quite distressed by my last blog post.
Let me make this clear: Last weekend's crisis wasn't a result of Chantix. It was just a hard weekend for me. And I made it through without smoking. So if anything should encourage new quitters, that's the one that should do it for you.
If anything, I credit Chantix with making me a quitter. I still think I was just being polite when I said I was going to try to quit smoking. Chantix made that polite disclaimer a reality. Not me. Chantix.
And I still don't check the GetQuit website every day. It has not been as good as the bloggers for me in terms of inspiration!
As for busywork to keep my hands from reaching for cigarettes... I guess the card-making and scrapbooking has done its job. I really don't reach for cigarettes the way I used to. I'm almost quit for 7 weeks now -- I understand why the Chantix prescription suggests taking the drugs for 12 weeks. Sometimes I feel very strong, and sometimes I still feel quite vulnerable....
But the vulnerable moments are waning, while the strong moments are definitely waxing and growing in strength!
Someday soon I shall be able to declare myself an ex-smoker. In the meantime, I still look back on those momentous moments in the smoking sections, and I find myself hoping that the fun, vivacious, and warm smokers I met in smoking sections will soon find themselves in non-smoking sections with me, showing the uptight non-smokers how to behave in a party setting!
3 comments:
Bay, I feel just as you do about Chantix being the difference between me wanting to quit and actually doing it. I was still waiting until I felt more strongly about going into the hellish battle that quitting smoking had been when my dear friend told me about Chantix. Then, I was suddenly interested and feeling more ready since it sounded like less of the really horrible stuff from past quits and like I could do it with just the wanting to I had and not the full body armor. Anyway, yes, I agree with you that the Chantix definitely helped, and without it, I'd probably still just be "thinking about quitting."
About the tougher days, I agree that those are actually the most inspiring. We can all do it more gracefully on the days that aren't as hard, but it's the ones when there's very little grace involved, yet we still come through the other side smoke-free and *way* stronger for it. You sounded strong to me, so I didn't worry and, in fact, saw it as a good sign that you hung in there, even if the day was so frustrating.
Reading along from the start of your journey, I'm just impressed as can be with you, Bay, and you continue to inspire me.
ARGH Blogger. I wrote a big long thing here and Blogger ate it. I'll just "ditto" Maggie's comment - I can't type all that again. :(
I concur with Maggie also.
You sound determined with plenty of resolve, you will make it, I don't doubt you will stay a non-smoker.
Congratulations!!
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