Quitting Smoking One Day at a Time...

QuitMeter Counter courtesy of www.quitmeter.com.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

I Walked Away from a Smoker Last Night...

My Journey To a Smoking Trigger Place...
I went out last night to a place that I really associate with smoking cigarettes. I have been in AA for over 22 years and have been clean and sober for twenty of those years. When I got sober, smoking cigarettes and drinking coffeee was a huge part of the culture and something I really assiociated with being a member of Alcoholic's Anonymous. Since I have started this journey toward becomming a non-smoker (since the first week of October,) I have only been to this meeting once. I have a lot of friends that goes to this particular meeting and I have really missed it. The one time I did go I brought my laptop to give me something to do with my hands. I have really wanted to go but I knew a was going to have to do a few things differently. Before I left for the meeting I actually thought about what I needed to do to avoid smoking before leaving the house. Since I don't feel exactly like a smoker or exactly a non-smoker, I'm in an odd place. One of the decisions I made was to enter through the opposite end of the building (opposite of the front entrance where all the smokers light up) and when the meeting break occurred, I would not go outside. Since I was not smoking I had not real reason to go out in the cold! It was actually no big deal to stay inside and I didn't really feel like I was missing anything.

After the meeting ended, I was talking to some friends and one of the girls finally lit up but went and stood a few feet away. When the smell started to tug at me, I told them I needed to go. I got into my car, grabbed my "ceramic air cigarette" and took in two deep breaths. I then went and did some grocery shopping. It was easier than I thought. It is definetly easier to stay quit then to start all over again. I am glad I am starting to feel comfortable without the crutch of having to light up to feel comfortable. Its definetly getting easier!
Peace,
Diva

2 comments:

maggie said...

Many congrats! The rooms have long been associated with coffee and cigarettes, but at least it's not the thick indoor smoke that no amount of ventilation can touch. That's so awesome. Good for you!!

Clifford said...

You are quite a trooper! I'm not a smoker but I'm glad to see that you have created this blog. Just think, if even one person finds the motivation to quit because of your example, you've saved a life!