Today is Quit Day

The Great American Smoke-Out is today, so wish me luck – I’m quitting smoking…..again. I’ve tried several times over the last few years, including a recent attempt a few months ago, but this time I’m determined to make it stick. I’ve laid in a supply of sugar-less hard candies, I’ve set up a support network – including a quit buddy, and I’ve got a plan.

What makes this attempt so different from the others? My determination, and my shame. Shame because my son smokes, and he is the one who told me we needed to quit. Literally announced: “Mom, we’re quitting.”

For the second time, one of his close friends’ mother has been diagnosed with cancer. Like the first, the prognosis is not good. We’re quitting because he doesn’t want to watch his mother struggle with a terminal illness. He doesn’t want to struggle with a terminal illness in 20 or 30 years because of a habit he learned from me.

So, after 22 years, I’m really going to quit. I don’t want cancer. I don’t want emphysema. I don’t want a heart attack or a stroke. Most importantly, I don’t want my son to smoke anymore, and I don’t want his brother and sister to start.

We’re both quitting cold turkey. No nicotine replacement. No Zyban or Wellbutrin to keep us from feeling crappy. No straws to pretend with. Nothing but us – together.

To keep myself on track, I’m posting some of my reasons for quitting, in no particular order:

1. R, P, and M – the three greatest kids a mom could have.

2. To improve my health

3. No more running outside to light up when I’m at a bar or restaurant.

4. I’ll smell better.

5. My house will smell better.

6.  To lower my risk of cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and death.

7. To set a better example for my kids, and my nieces and nephew.

8. To increase my chances of meeting Mr. Right. (Hey, ya never know!)

9.  My houseplants will be healthier.

10. To save $1277.50 a year! ($3.50/pk per day)

11.  To help one kid quit, and keep the other two from starting.

12. To make my mother happy.

13. To avoid dying of throat cancer, like my father.

14.  Because I want to be a fun, active grandmother…someday.

15. Because I know what a ventilator sounds like as it breathes for someone. “Gross” and “Ewww!” don’t even begin to cover it.

16. Because I don’t want to be tethered to a wheelchair or oxygen tank.

17. To take business trips without stopping every hour (half-hour) just to grab a few drags at a rest stop.

18. To keep from looking like a dried apple by the time I’m 50.

19. Because my sense of taste and smell will improve.

20. Because I’m sick of being addicted.

21. Because I look stupid with a cigarette in my mouth.

22. Because I’m in no hurry to meet the Grim Reaper or join the angel choir.

To everyone else quitting today: Congratulations and best of luck!