I CAN'T imagine myself as a smoker. Although I was a heavy smoker just a month ago, the habit is a rapidly fading memory.
Today, when I was buying a chicken and mayo baguette and an iced bun in a baker's, I saw a lady I've known all my life. My abiding memory of her, as I was growing up, was of her walking down the garden path with a cigarette in her mouth. After choosing the baguette, I was stalling over 'seconds'. There was so much to pick from and, in all honesty, did I really need a cake? I was just telling myself that a raw carrot would be better for me - and cheaper - when I blurted out: "You can tell I've given up smoking!"
The lady replied: "I know, I've been reading all about it." She said she is in the process of preparing to totally quit. She says she's been trying. I hope she makes it. What an achievement it would be, after all those years of being a smoker.
I do, sometimes, feel that there's something missing in my life. Occasionally, I catch myself almost at a loss for something to do - even though I've got loads to do. It's like I'm looking for something to plug a gap in between tasks.
It was only after I gave up smoking that I realised I had been living my life in bite-size stages. It dawned on me when I came through the front door at the end of my first day as a non-smoker. I had shopping. I realised that I was accustomed to smoking a cigarette immediately. I'd then unpack the shopping and, afterwards, light another cigarette. I probably wouldn't even take my coat off until I was on a third cigarette. It was as though I was marking the start and finish of individual tasks; like I couldn't get anything done without a surge of nicotine.
All in all, I've realised how much time I WASTED standing around stinking the place out with smoke and damaging my health. Smoking is a time waster, all round!
Wear your patch with pride!
THE day before I gave up smoking, my 'peak flow' was recorded at 220. I have been taking prescribed steroids to help keep my airways clear for 10 years.
This week, my 'peak flow' was recorded at 400, which is the best it has been for at least a decade.