For those who don’t know, we lost my mom to COPD and Emphysema on July 25, 2009. She died 13 days before my youngest was born, my little one, who was named for her grama, and won’t ever know. She just wasn’t ever able to quit smoking. There aren’t enough words to express the grief that comes – but anyone who’s lived with the loss of a loved one knows that all too well. What has been so very, very hard for me to deal with has been the knowledge that her death could so easily have been prevented. My mom had a lot of life left to live, and some retirement to enjoy. She’s supposed to be spending her years island hopping around the Caribbean Sea with my dad, finding new ways to enjoy cocktails, reading 4000 books in the sun, avoiding having her picture taken, and finally, swimming with dolphins.
Instead, I sit here, with my house decorated with countless holiday decorations- most of which were purchased by her for me or her decorations, the ones that adorned the walls and doors of my childhood homes, given to me after she died. I sit here, surrounded by her memories and her legacy, and wishing that smoking was just non existent.
I’m not even going to tell you I’ve never smoked. You know what? I have. I hate it, but I have. I’ll own it. But I stopped, and never have I thought to have another. I won’t, either. I’m bound and determined to live long enough to be a crabby old lady sitting on her rocking chair on a front porch shaking my cane at kids running around making noise, pretending to be annoyed but really, loving every blessed minute.
Smoking isn’t easy to quit. It’s probably one of the hardest habits to break. BUT the benefits are limitless, and in the end, you’ll be healthier- and stick around longer. Maybe long enough to see your littlest grandbaby born. Or to see your oldest grandson walk down the aisle at his wedding.
Blueprint to Quit is a comprehensive program put together by Nicorette and Nicoderm to help you quit smoking for good- if you are a smoker, or someone you love or care about is, this is worth checking out.
- Nicorette and Nicoderm have put together a Walmart-exclusive program that gives you everything you need to quit smoking for good.
- Join QuitNet: QuitNet is a behavioral support community that you can join on its own or bundle with 14 different Nicorette or Nicoderm products. On our site, readers can get a $10 mail-in rebate for an online membership to QuitNet (a $39.99 value).
- Get Educated by Experts: Watch videos of quit smoking experts and addiction specialists share their advice and tips about quitting smoking successfully.
I hope that if you or someone you care about is still smoking- that you’ll check out Blueprint to Quit. It matters.
Tammy S says
I think it’s great that there is more ways to find help to quit smoking. It is also nice that there is medication now a days to help you make it through the withdrawal.
Jo-Ann Brightman says
It’s great that there are more sites like this one to help smokers to quit, yet explains all the difficulties involved
Danielle @ We Have It All says
I’ve never seen a time line like that, it really puts it all into perspective. Thanks for all of the info!
Betty Baez says
Thank you for posting I’m actually in the process of quitting Im 13 days without cold turkey and I’m finding it extremely hard