No. They can't. Even my husband, who has 6 years sober, does not understand, and never will. I get that comment, are you STILL on the patches? Like, wow, I quit alcohol without no stinking patches.....
So just be real, try to understand the addiction yourself, and be prepared for the bouts of emotion that sometimes make us a little (!) crabby. After all, we rarely said anything back when we smoked, we just went and covered our emotions with a smoke instead. In the last few months of this quit journey I have had to actually say something in response. And I've learned a lot about myself I never would have otherwise.
But always remember this: Say what you mean, and mean what you say, but don't say it mean.
It's truly something to strive for, since we have had no experience with saying something back in any manner, let alone a nice or polite or let's say assertive (rather than aggressive) way. So keep on kickin ash, we do soooo deserve the freedom.
Denise [IMG]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p300/DeeKaySss/Parrot_talks.gif[/IMG]
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/17/2007
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 9
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 285
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $45
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 36 [B]Seconds:[/B] 47
