It’s hard to believe it has been FIVE YEARS since I quit smoking. Five years, today!
It ranks in the Top Five of my proudest accomplishments, sharing space with starting a business, buying a house, visiting France, and writing a book. It is that big.
It is that big because it was not just about quitting smoking. Quitting smoking is not just about quitting smoking.
Quitting smoking is about making a commitment to being healthy — mind-body-spirit healthy — and deciding to change your lifestyle so completely that smoking is no longer an option.
Quitting smoking is about making peace with the empty space — and the fear, loneliness, sadness, and grief that tends to congregate there. Everyone has an empty space. Everyone. And nothing fills it up — not cigarettes or alcohol or shopping or sex…or even cookies. You just have to make peace with it.
Quitting smoking is about the long haul. It’s a marathon event that might be helped by pills or patches or programs, but in the wee hours of the morning, it’s just you and the long, quiet road ahead. You have to feel safe there.
Quitting smoking is about support. Friends and family and loved ones who support your effort 100%. Who don’t let you slide, cheat, reconsider. Who cheer you on with love and atta-girls and encouragement — the day you quit, the week you quit, the month you quit. And yes, even five years after you quit.
But ultimately? Ultimately, quitting smoking is about loving yourself enough. Finally.
To Fred, MaryAnne, Martha, Bob, Carol, Dale, the folks at K&G, Mary, Pamela, Rhonda, Stef, Steve, Tara, DeLinda, Melissa, Doreen, the wonderful women from my Sharing Circle, Dr. Brainerd, Dorothy, David Sedaris, Pat and Betty at CVS, and everyone who stood witness, I thank you from the bottom of my healing heart and lungs.
If you want to stop smoking, please read this book now.
Hi Jen,
Congrats from Paris!!!
As one who has been there …….I get it entirely.
I am very proud of you!
Bisous ❌❌❌
Maggie
>
Merci beaucoup, ma cher!
Good for you! Great job! Take a deep breath and bow.. (You deserve it!)
I take LOTS of deep breaths now. : )
Yikes, I can’t believe it’s that long already! Congratulations…especially for “making peace with the empty space.” What a perfect way to describe it!
Thanks, Mary! Time flies, doesn’t it?
good message – not evangelical or superior, just about how it makes YOU feel – and yes, atta girl :D
It such a big deal, you know? And involves so many things, so many pieces of our psyche. I wish there was more focus on that part of the process and not just the physical addiction…
Fabulous! A most difficult feat. Congratulations, Jen. Save this. Bookmark it. Reread it if the need arises. It’s a tough road to hoe. When I smoked, I could have eaten those sticks if it was at all possible. They try to break you. Apparently you’re stronger and smarter. ;-)
I think that’s why I mark this date every year. It’s a huge thing, and never really over. Addiction is never really over. So it’s always good to have reminders of how hard it was to pull up out of that hole. (Yea, I remember after I quit, thinking it would be divine to EAT a cigarette. Ew gross, now, but in the throes of withdrawal? Heaven!)
Good luck. Not that I think
You’ll need it, woman like you.
xxx
Congratulations, Jen… A great accomplishment. And thanks for the book tip; I may have to get it. I never think I’m “ready,” but I might be.
Love your posts, and how they all mean something to me…
C
Dear Carol. Thank you for your kind words – as always. When you are “ready,” get the book – it saved my life.
Congratulations, Jen! You are an inspiration. What a blessing it is to be SMOKE FREE!!!! As a former smoker, I know just what a truly big deal it is and how great it is to celebrate your anniversary! Yahooo!!
While those smoke-filled UMASS days are treasured memories my dear friend, I am glad we are making new ones in healthy, fresh air! You put that amazing book in my sightline, remember? And you walked this path way before I did. This is YOUR celebration, too!!! Love you! xoxo
How wonderful! :-)