Long Time, No Blog...

Wow, it's been a long time since I journalled. Things have been pretty mellow lately....about time, too. lol Life is finally back to what passes for normal around here. Still smokefree, too...18 months now. That still blows my mind sometimes. I guess the third time was the charm for me. I won't go getting all cocky though...you're never really safe from nicotine. If you don't pay attention, or figure you got it licked.....BAM! Back to a pack a day. My brother Greg is on his millionth quit...about 4 months now. At least the dude keeps on trying, I'll give him that. My mom says she's quitting when she finishes her can of tobacco....this will be the third or fourth attempt in the past year or so. One of my adopted little sisters from the Quitnet just lost a long quit about 2 months ago, and says she's quitting again in the next couple days. I really hope they all stick with it this time. Smoking sucks, people...I cannot stress that enough. There is nothing good, relaxing or attractive about it. It fixes NOTHING!! All it gets us is broke, addicted, sick....and eventually dead. I'm not trying to come off as one of those holier-than-thou ex-smokers, I swear! I still get tempted from time to time. Mickey and I had one hell of a fight a few months ago, and I very nearly bummed a smoke off a complete stranger. For about 2 minutes, I just didn't give a damn anymore. I just glad that I engaged my brain before I did something stupid. I've worked and fought too hard for this quit to just toss it aside on a whim. I've heard every excuse in the book when it comes to that quit-breaking smoke...I've made more than a few of them myself in the past. But, in my humble opinion, what it boils down to is that the person in question basically stopped caring. If they would just take a minute to think about the consequences of what they're about to do...but who am I to say? All I can testify to is what works for me. The way I see it, many of life's problems are fleeting...even if they seem never-ending at the time. The only exception is addiction. If left untreated, it goes on and on and on.It seems kind of dumb to me to risk re-awakening a beast like nicotine addiction just because you had an argument with someone, or you got drunk...or even if someone dies. I've had all three happen in the past 18 months, and there were times that I came perilously close to smoking. All I can give as a reason for my continued smobriety is that I still care.