I should have read this earlier, Lady. Its a great post. Thanks for sharing it. ttin. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]9/20/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 6 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 180 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $36.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 44 [B]Seconds:[/B] 30

Thanks Lady, You have a wonderful way of writing with your heart. Thanks for taking the time to share this with all of us. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]8/25/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 32 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 640 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $96.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 11 [B]Mins:[/B] 45 [B]Seconds:[/B] 55

Lady, I love reading your posts. I love how genuinely concerned and caring you are for other members. You are very inspirational and your kind heart is evident to me. Thanks. :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]8/25/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 32 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 960 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $187.20 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 7 [B]Seconds:[/B] 2

Thank you Blue Cloud. I've been extremely busy the last couple of weeks. I just returned from a week in Chicago for training on my new job. It's also budget season so I will continue to be pretty busy for a while but try to drop by. I believe that meeting new friends just kind of happens. I let go of some relationships that were over 10 years old. It wasn't easy. My views of life changed and as it did so did my surroundings. As you know, I'm in a totally new location, new job, new life, new love, new everything. Quitting smoking evolved in my father finding his own place to live and my daughter moving out to live her own life. It wasn't easy but the best thing for all of us. You can only take one step at a time. It comes. I've watched you since the beginning. You are a woman of character, style and grace. You will adjust and be so happy because of the changes. Your determination will carry you through and everything will fall into place. I truly believe that. 84 days is absolutely AWESOME!!!! Congratulations!!!! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/1/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 817 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 16,340 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2,859.50 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 73 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 9 [B]Seconds:[/B] 32

Lady, That was just beautiful! Thank you for being able to write what I feel! Catacap [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]8/4/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 53 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,060 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $185.50 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 4 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 55 [B]Seconds:[/B] 40

Hi Lady, That appears to be what I need to do also. It is very hard to isolate yourself and still feel you are continueing to live. I am in the process of trying to make new friends (non-smoking ones) and at my age that is not easy. Trust is an isse with me. I missed you the past couple of weeks. I always look for your posts. can you believe I am at day 84? [IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc51/pollyepierce/cooltext66183018.jpg[/IMG] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/4/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 84 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,680 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $336.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 11 [B]Hrs:[/B] 4 [B]Mins:[/B] 53 [B]Seconds:[/B] 33

Absolutely brilliant! From the heart and honest! Thanks for sharing :) Josie, Support Specialist

Thank you, Lady, that was beautifully written and a reminder to us all. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]8/17/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 40 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 960 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $168.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 7 [B]Hrs:[/B] 5 [B]Mins:[/B] 46 [B]Seconds:[/B] 47

[b]In violent and chaotic times such as these, our only chance for survival lies in creating our own little islands of sanity and order, in making little havens of our homes. - Susan Kaufman[/b] A lot of lessons have been learned during my quit. Perspective was among the most difficult. Another difficult concept that took me the better part of a year to understand was that I am ok just the way I am. Sure we all need to constantly be aware of areas of improvement. That isn't what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about core values. Who I am deep inside. The saying above, [b]creating our own little islands of sanity and order[/b] was something I felt guilty for doing but it was necessary for my quit survival. On the island I created were the tools I needed. The SSC, quit buddies, emails and phone calls, and the necessities. I had to let go of a lot of things in order to survive. Things like bitterness (which I was really good at holding on to), unhealthy relationships, and the need to strive to be the very best. Day after day situations came up that I had to learn how to cope with, put behind me and move forward. This is all part of the quit process. Some just quit smoking and move on with life. I wasn't one of those fortunate people. I had to learn how to live life without the crutch of smoking. Emotionaly it was probably the hardest thing I've ever done but I wanted to quit smoking. I no longer wanted to be controlled by the cigarette. There were other things in life I wanted to experience and enjoy and smoking was standing in my way. Create your island of sanity, take your coping tools with you, get through the early days five minutes at a time, refuse to allow the nicodemon on your island, and when you are ready you will begin to build your bridge to the outside world again. One step at a time, one day at a time, remembering NOPE (not one puff ever). That is how we survive. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/1/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 817 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 16,340 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2,859.50 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 73 [B]Hrs:[/B] 18 [B]Mins:[/B] 51 [B]Seconds:[/B] 26