8 months

I am delighted and proud 

To tell you all

That I am 8 months smoke free today!

After almost 20 years of smoking 30 a day

I finally gave up last August 

While I was away in London

I think I can now officially call myself a non smoker

I loved smoking 

Loved every thing about it

At regular intervals through out the day

I used to make myself a cup of tea

And take 5 minutes out for a cigarette

Those minutes were precious

I did my best thinking at this time 

Cigarettes punctuated my life

And for a long time 

I had no desire to give up

Even though I was spending €100 a week on them

And was constantly broke

I loved them too much to give them up

And of course I believed the myth that if you give up smoking

Then you gain a lot of weight

I wasn't going to chance it

I wish I could say that I gave up for health reasons 

I didn't 

I gave up because I could no longer afford them

That was the only reason

If I were rich

I would definitely still be smoking

Last August 

My uncle went to Turkey 

And brought me back two cartons of my favourite brand

I decided that when they were gone

Then I would give up

I smoked my head off for the next two weeks 

And thoroughly enjoyed every one of them

Then 

One Monday morning 

At 10 30am

I found myself with my last cigarette

I waited until I was dying for it

Then I went out to the garden

Settled on the bench 

With a cup of tea

And my book

Conditions had to be perfect for my last one

I lit the cigarette

And inhaled deeply

I drank in every bit of it

And all too soon it was over 

I smoked it right down to the butt

And said my goodbyes as I extinguished it

That was it

My love affair with cigarettes was over

Since that morning

I haven't looked back

Haven't even wanted to

I made up my mind that I was going to quit 

And when I put my mind to something

I really give it my all

Ive heard it said 

That cigarettes are harder to give up than heroin

Just to set the record straight

That is uter horse shit

Heroin is by far the hardest thing I have ever given up

Don't get me wrong

Giving up smoking is tricky

But with heroin you have the double whammy of being both physically and mentally addicted

At least with smoking there are no physical withdrawals

It's more a mental thing

Today is a good day

It shows me that I can achieve when I put my mind to it

That I can overcome the obstacles in my life

It is possible to succeed at the goals we set ourselves 

Today is a good day