I am smokin'

NOT!  But I am smokin' HOT... because I'm NOT... not smokin'.

Today is the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout.

Tomorrow marks 20 months, to the day, since I smoked my last cigarette.  I was going to link to The Very Day, but the whole month is pretty much it -- Who, What, Why, Where, When and How.  (One of these days, I'll get all those posts linked to the "smoking" category, but March of '05 is where it starts.)  That's over 600 days without, more than 12,000 cigarettes not smoked -- OMG, do you believe that number?  In the twelves of THOUSANDS?  Holy crap!!  It's also over $2,000 saved -- how about THAT number?  In the twos of THOUSANDS?  All I need do is look at that and any guilt I may have about spending money on knitting classes, flying to fiber fests, buying books and yarn... gone.  Totally gone.  The money saved is now far outpacing any money spent, including all the early, at-the-time-not-yet-earned rewards (I guess you could call those incentives).  More importantly, because I quit smoking, I have "saved" over 3 months of my life -- that much more time to use the books and fiber that the money can buy -- and it's a number that continues to grow with all the others.  I wasn't smokin' like a chimney, either, folks; I smoked about a pack a day -- your mileage may vary.

I used QuitNet and QuitAssist, nicotine patches, and a little assistance from my health care provider -- in fact, they reimbursed me the cost of the patches after only a few months quit.  I did a lot of planning ahead, too.

Mostly, though, it was Ann (it was her bright idea in the first place!), Cara, my sister, my brother-in-law, support from all of you in blogland (the inspiration and support in the comments of some of those early posts -- phenomenal), my family, of course...

I'm not one of those ex-smokers, but I am proud of my accomplishment and deserve the right to crow about it now and then.  I'm SO proud of Ann and my sister and Lesli -- Lesli, who (my eyes are filling up right now) says that I was her inspiration to quit smoking and who credits the quit with her ability to become pregnant after SEVEN years of trying and who recently gave birth to a healthy, beautiful baby girl, whom I affectionately call "my fairy blogchild."  I am SO proud of you, Lesli, and so incredibly happy for you!

Anyway, my quitting smoking will forever be tied to wide world of knit-blogging.  I probably could have done it without you, but I don't know if I would have...  Thank you.  (Soapbox now getting the boot...)

Comments

[jaci]

Congratulations on quitting smoking!! I have heard that it is really hard to quit this habit and I admire you for taking on the challenge and winning. Good for you!!

[Gretchen]

Congratulations on your most important milestone! Way to go! Crow all you want- you have more lung power with which to crow! Caw, caw away!

[Jenn]

Congratulations! I quit on 3/22/05, so I've been there too. Best of luck to all those out there quitting today, and anyday. If we can, you can.

[Carole]

Congratulations, Vicki. I know you'll do wonderful things during the time you've added to your lifespan.

[Julia]

Congrats again. I'm on day 12 of 14 patches. I still want one. The patches help for now. They actually keep me from buying a pack. I think if someone handed me a lit cigarette right now, I'd probably take it. But I'd feel bad about it. Since nobody is offering me any lit cigarettes, as long as I don't buy them, I don't smoke them.

[Susan]

Congratulations! I was cheering you on when you first started this, but since you have quit, I have had one friend and one coworker die of lung cancer, had a friend whose mom died of emphysema, and now know another person who's dying of lung cancer, so the health issue with smoking has really hit home with me this year and I'm even more proud that you did this. You go, girl!

[yvette]

Yeah! well done you, 20 months is a long time, congratulations and have fun spending your savings.

[cursingmama]

Congratulations - It's a great feeling to be smoke free isn't it. That and the extra yarn money isn't anything to get upset about either.

[ann]

we completely rock! and I credit you with my success! and I know I would not have done it without our little blogosphere.

[Jess]

Congratulations!

[DebbieB]

Sooooo very proud of you! Keep up the good work - I love the stats of "money saved" and more importantly, "LIFE saved". WooHoo!!!!!

[Deb]

I've told you this before - there are those of us to whom you will never be a smoker and who could never imagine you as a smoker. You were never that person to me (not like she was a bad person or anything - she was just 'nother Vicki). Congratulations on your brave journey and keep it up my friend.

[Emma.]

We're all very proud of you. Well done !

[Stacie]

Congrats!! In March it will be four years since I quit with no relapses!! Yay!

[gail]

Congratulations on not smoking. You are a strong woman. I never started smoking, but if I had, I know that I would still be doing it. Well done! Here's to 20 more months!

[scout]

Go YOU!

[Carol]

In my best Simpsons Mr. Burns voice, "Exxxxcellent". Think of all the extra things you'll be able to knit!

[Cara]

I've been so crazy I missed this - but OH MY GOD I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!

And thanks for making me cry. It isn't even 7AM yet.

[Dana]

That's awesome! Congratulations on your accomplishment- not an easy thing to do.

[kmkat]

I'm so proud of you -- and we've never met IRL and I wasn't into reading blogs when you quit. But I'm still proud of you.

[Leslie]

Congrats on your success! It's awesome you were able to quit and stick with it. And yes, now you have more cash for yarn..and patterns...and needles...

[Lynne]

I am soooooooooo proud of you, Vicki!

[Kathleen]

You should be proud!! Well done!!1

[Chris]

Congratulations!! The power of knit-blogging to help change lives for the better.

[Kim]

I remember your struggle but it was so worth it, wasn't it? Every anniversary will remind you of the gift you gave to your family by quitting :-)

[Tipper]

You have my utmost congratulations! It's a HUGE thing and you deserve to crow about your accomplishment every chance you get.