Today marks 9 years of being quit for me...
I remember the evening, 9 years and 1 day ago. I was sitting down eating dinner with my wife, daughter and son. I had been contemplating quitting all day long...Times a few more days...And had come to a decision. The can I had was going to be my last can ever...Ever.
We had just about finished eating when I finally mustered up the courage to tell them that I was quitting. Saying the words were hard, but the rewards were great.I knew I had to say it out loud...The beginning of my accountability.
I reached into the back right side pocket of my jeans and pulled out my can. I held it up so they could see it, and I said, "This is my last can of dip, ever. I'm quitting". They looked at me, somewhat stunned, in my opinion. Then they jumped out of their chairs and ran to me, hugged me, kissed me, and expressed their joy with what I had said.
Right then, I knew that I would never dip again. I could never crush the joy that I just witnessed. But at the same time, I knew I was doing it for me. It had to be that way.
The can I had, had 2 more dips in it...One for after dinner, one for the after dinner dip...Wow, I remember looking at the near empty can, and really second guessing myself. But I had drawn the line and needed to stick to it.
The next morning was hard...As you all know. The next 3 days were the hardest. The fog was strong in this one. I thought the fogginess was just what it felt like, to not be dipping. That sucked. I thought it would never lift, but it finally did.
It took a few days for me to find a quit website. It was the original QuitSmokeless.org or net, or whatever....I "met" a lot of awesome people on that site. Some are here today.
But that site closed a few days before our Hall of Fame dates were going to start happening....May 2006 The Drama Queens, is our group. Undoubtedly the best quit group in the history of quit groups......Talk about being thrown for a loop....A definite feeling of loss.
A mere day or 2 before we started hitting the Hall, a "lighter" version of a quit site was opened, and we were once again able to band together and post our days, and celebrate hitting the HOF......Not long after that, this GREAT quit site was created, practically overnight. It has been home ever since.
There is a lot of quit knowledge on this site. Their are untold numbers of quitters who can help you quit, and stay quit. Use the resources that are provided here. You never want to experience day 3 again...Never.
My door is closed. Your door should be closed as well.
9 Years and counting.
Rem