Celebrate Quit Smoking Anniversaries

My own 10 year stop smoking anniversary will be on October 16, 2008.
I really quit close to midnight on the 15th but declared the 16th as my first full day of being a non-smoker.

I feel special to be in the double digits.

I remember when being smoke free for one hour or one day seemed impossibly intimidating to try.

I quit for good minute by minute.

Time takes time and it does pass. This too is temporary.

The desire to quit will outweigh the urge to smoke more and more until one day you realize it's been TEN YEARS since you even held a cigarette and even though you may feel like lighting one up on occasion you won't because the time you've put in is too important to give up.

BUT, if you do, just see it as practice and practice makes perfect. Mark Twain said he quit smoking a hundred times a day. Well, one day it will take. It will.

I thought giving up smoking would be like the end of the world but it's really the beginning of a whole new world. One where you can go anywhere, anytime you like because you are not held back by the bad habit any longer.

I think I'll go to the movies and out to dinner. I'll be able to enjoy the show and the meal without worrying about what part of the movie I can miss to go smoke or hurrying up a good meal to go out to smoke. I'll just smile and breathe and be thankful that I finally did one of the best things for myself that I could ever do.

I had help and I'd like to thank, in no particular order; God, the good inventors of nicotine gums and patches, my family for understanding my emotional changes, my doctor for giving me the OK to use the nicotine gum for a longer period of time, xanax for helping me stay calm and be able to sleep and the stop smoking message boards that are all over the Internet. Being able to read and share the same thing others go through is priceless.

Most are encouraging, all are helpful.

Good luck and celebrate every cig. you don't smoke!