Blog Nr. 15

When I was young and growing up, Smoking was the norm. My Dad, Mom, and older siblings smoked. All the Grammas/Grammpas and Aunts/Uncles smoked. Is it any wonder I also got hooked? It was the "cool, adult" thing to do.

It was real easy for me to get started. At the age of 12-13 I started stealing cigarettees from my family members. I had my choice: Dad smoked Camels, Mom smoked Old Golds, my older brother smoked Luckies and my older sister smoked Pall Mall. Just as good as a tobacco shop!!

I am sure I coughed my head off after the first one-----but after a while I stopped coughing and things went along well......Then I got caught! I thought my Dad or Mom would be really be upset.....instead my Dad said "If you are going to smoke, smoke in front of me..What???? Thereafter, I would smoke in front of everyone. No one discouraged or banned me from developing this habit. Even my Nana supplied me with hers (Chesterfields), as I remember. The only one who didn't smoke cigarettes was my Grampa (he smoked Prince Albert tobacco in an old pipe.)

That was the mentality of the day. As I got deeper in my teens, the guys smoked for a variety of reasons. They wanted to appear tough, they wanted to "fit in", they thought it would help attract the girls.....all kinds of excuses.(But they were VALID excuses!!!!!!!)

As I got older I ended up marrying a young girl who also smoked. She smoked during her pregnancies with our three kids. We smoked around them, never giving a thought about the harm we were potentially doing, not just to ourselves but to them. (Sorry, kids)

At the age of 37, I decided to quit. I started with "One step at a time filters", working throught their 12 week program. Did it work? ABSOLUTEY! How did it work? It worked because during that period I was still in the Navy, stationed aboard a cruiser in Long Beach, CA. My wife was in CO with the kids.
I retired from the Navy shortly after quitting and returned home. And I did not have a smoke for 7-8 years. All this time my wife continued smoking. About this time, I got started again. Why/How is unexplainable.

My son was away at the Naval Academy, our two daughters were still home. As predictable, my two daughters started smoking. I did not discourage them-----they had the poor example of two parents smoking their brains out. Ouch!!!!

My son has never smoked, my youngest daughter has stopped smoking (good for her), yet my oldest daughter continues. (I hope she stops!!)

What has smoking done for me? I have lost a good percentage of my ability to smell and taste.
Non-smoking friends have shied away from visiting because of the smell. My clothes, I am sure, smell as if they were stored in a R.J. Reynolds closet. Our house stinks, our color scheme is Nicotine brown.
I have tried to quit many times.....Zyban and Chantix worked for a week until the horrific dreams got the best of me. Patches don't do it.....Nicorette gum won't work (with dentures, chewing gum is most difficult).

My wife and I enable each other. Going without a cigarette makes us both very "touchy", if you get my drift. (And I don't mean "touchy" in the good sense!)

So, why bring this up. MY WIFE AND I ARE GOING TO QUIT SMOKING!!!! You heard right....we are going to quit, together. She started on Chantix a few days ago and is feeling no side effects. It should work for her. I, on the other hand, am going to go "cold turkey".

Are we going to make it this time? My wife is not so sure, but I am pretty bull-headed - besides, we have two beautiful grandaughters we want to enjoy, along with OUR kids, for as long as possible. On the appointed "quit" day, all ashtrays, cigarette lighters, and anything that resembles a cigarette will be removed from our house. The house will be overwhelmed by the air fresheners I intend to purchase. This will be an all-out effort.

What will we gain by quitting? Let me list them:
Our non-smoking friends, some we haven't seen for a while, will, (I hope) come to visit without having to bring gas-masks.
Our breaths, hopefully, will not be so offensive to everyone.
Our house will, with a new paint-job, look somewhat normal.
We will save a heck of a lot of money----average a carton between us every 3 days amounts to about $5700 dollars a year!
We won't have to listen to each other gasp, choke and cough all day/night long.

So, if you smoke, and want to visit, leave them home. Smoking is not welcome here!

But the biggest gain, I think, will be if it gives me one more moment, one more year/month/day or only 30 seconds to look at my family before I make my final voyage, it will be well worth it.

Meant time, before we hit the D-Day, I will now retreat to the patio and light one up.