When it finally sank in...

[Old Dog New Tricks]

Proud to be Quit with you! Samurai Strong

[pab1964]

So I started chewing in high school, which at times seems like it was yesterday, but in reality I've been out now for 19 years. I was 16 when I started chewing, that makes it 21 years. My parents both smoked, like chimneys. My Mom eventually quit, and I lost my Dad three weeks to the day before my son was born, his only grandchild. He smoked until the day that he died. He had massive heart failure.

Chewing was just something we did. All of us, you know, "the boys". We all played sports, we all said we'd never be addicted, we "just liked the taste". Too cool to be addicts, I mean come on, it was Kodiak, not cocaine.

As I got older, I got away from the Kodiak, and went to Copenhagen for years. It all seems so stupid now, how could I have just did it over and over and over and over again?

Now, you want to talk about stupid... here's stupid. I left for Basic Training in the US Army in Feb. 2005. I quit. I had to. No choice. Can't have it. After 3 or 4 days, I didn't even miss it. Cold turkey walked away. My parents showed up for graduation. After graduation, we had time where we could just go hang out with our families. Dad hands me a can of Copenhagen. Yep, you're guessing right... I put one of those bastards in. 10 weeks clean, and it was all gone in a flash. Had 2 that day. The next day I left for AIT, parents saw me to the bus. Dad gave me the can back and a spare for the bus ride. I was instantly one of the most popular dudes on the bus. I had one every now and then in AIT, never had it in my barracks. Just on the weekends, you know, "with the boys".

So now, here I am, a shade over 10 years later and this crap is still following me around in my back pocket everyday. Oh, I've told me wife of almost 8 years now I was gonna quit. "After football season's over", "After hockey is done", "After hunting season", "I'll only have one when I go fishing", and on, and on, and on...

Well to quote Herb Brooks: "Not tonight". Well actually it was last night. Last night was IT. The final straw. We were sitting at the table, my wife, myself, and my almost 3 year-old mini-me. I looked over at him and saw him doing something kinda weird. He was acting like he had something in his hand. Make believe. Something all kids do. Only he was make-believing that he was putting a chew in like Dad. I was absolutely 100% speechless. That was IT. The end. Final. Fin. No Mas. No way in hell. I don't care if I imagine purple dragons with pink and green stripes are crawling out of my eye sockets, I'm done. Cold turkey. Me and a whole lotta water, a crap load of sugarfree gum, an occasional Diet Dew, and the Good Lord above.

I know I'm not a perfect Dad, far from it. But I have long said that I want one thing for my son, and that's to do it better than I did. I think today is the start of furthering that.

Good Bye Grizzly Fine Cut Wintergreen. ;) I would like to say I'll miss you, but I don't want to be a liar. You've had too much of my life these past 8 or so years.

I have your back man. My parents huff like nobody's business. Check out my HOF Speech. topic/11164455/1/#new I hope that motivates you on your quit. I'm more than happy to be an ear as you progress on. It's a battle but worth it!

Welcome to the rest of your nic free life! Let me say it is awesome! Get in here post roll! Make your promise edd! ODAAT! If you do that you can't fail. Get some numbers from brothers and sisters, you will need them for bad days. I'm at 156 still have then now it's down to minutes not hours. My dip free life is awesome! I was a 38 year slave! There's no way possible I could be quit without this place. I'm an addict and so are you, but I'm a dip free addict! Join me. I quit with you today!

[SamMan33]

So I started chewing in high school, which at times seems like it was yesterday, but in reality I've been out now for 19 years. I was 16 when I started chewing, that makes it 21 years. My parents both smoked, like chimneys. My Mom eventually quit, and I lost my Dad three weeks to the day before my son was born, his only grandchild. He smoked until the day that he died. He had massive heart failure.

Chewing was just something we did. All of us, you know, "the boys". We all played sports, we all said we'd never be addicted, we "just liked the taste". Too cool to be addicts, I mean come on, it was Kodiak, not cocaine.

As I got older, I got away from the Kodiak, and went to Copenhagen for years. It all seems so stupid now, how could I have just did it over and over and over and over again?

Now, you want to talk about stupid... here's stupid. I left for Basic Training in the US Army in Feb. 2005. I quit. I had to. No choice. Can't have it. After 3 or 4 days, I didn't even miss it. Cold turkey walked away. My parents showed up for graduation. After graduation, we had time where we could just go hang out with our families. Dad hands me a can of Copenhagen. Yep, you're guessing right... I put one of those bastards in. 10 weeks clean, and it was all gone in a flash. Had 2 that day. The next day I left for AIT, parents saw me to the bus. Dad gave me the can back and a spare for the bus ride. I was instantly one of the most popular dudes on the bus. I had one every now and then in AIT, never had it in my barracks. Just on the weekends, you know, "with the boys".

So now, here I am, a shade over 10 years later and this crap is still following me around in my back pocket everyday. Oh, I've told me wife of almost 8 years now I was gonna quit. "After football season's over", "After hockey is done", "After hunting season", "I'll only have one when I go fishing", and on, and on, and on...

Well to quote Herb Brooks: "Not tonight". Well actually it was last night. Last night was IT. The final straw. We were sitting at the table, my wife, myself, and my almost 3 year-old mini-me. I looked over at him and saw him doing something kinda weird. He was acting like he had something in his hand. Make believe. Something all kids do. Only he was make-believing that he was putting a chew in like Dad. I was absolutely 100% speechless. That was IT. The end. Final. Fin. No Mas. No way in hell. I don't care if I imagine purple dragons with pink and green stripes are crawling out of my eye sockets, I'm done. Cold turkey. Me and a whole lotta water, a crap load of sugarfree gum, an occasional Diet Dew, and the Good Lord above.

I know I'm not a perfect Dad, far from it. But I have long said that I want one thing for my son, and that's to do it better than I did. I think today is the start of furthering that.

Good Bye Grizzly Fine Cut Wintergreen. ;) I would like to say I'll miss you, but I don't want to be a liar. You've had too much of my life these past 8 or so years.

I have your back man. My parents huff like nobody's business. Check out my HOF Speech. topic/11164455/1/#new I hope that motivates you on your quit. I'm more than happy to be an ear as you progress on. It's a battle but worth it!

[Skoal_is_Evil]

Well written intro kool33aid. I remember my 2 year old looking at me funny when I put in a wad. I had no idea how perceptive a two year old could be. I remember thinking that now I'm going to have to start hiding this from him too.... It was hard enough hiding it from every adult in my life. Thought I had a free pass with the little one till that happened. It was part of my wake up call that I needed to slay the dragon once and for all.

[kool33aid]

So I started chewing in high school, which at times seems like it was yesterday, but in reality I've been out now for 19 years. I was 16 when I started chewing, that makes it 21 years. My parents both smoked, like chimneys. My Mom eventually quit, and I lost my Dad three weeks to the day before my son was born, his only grandchild. He smoked until the day that he died. He had massive heart failure.

Chewing was just something we did. All of us, you know, "the boys". We all played sports, we all said we'd never be addicted, we "just liked the taste". Too cool to be addicts, I mean come on, it was Kodiak, not cocaine.

As I got older, I got away from the Kodiak, and went to Copenhagen for years. It all seems so stupid now, how could I have just did it over and over and over and over again?

Now, you want to talk about stupid... here's stupid. I left for Basic Training in the US Army in Feb. 2005. I quit. I had to. No choice. Can't have it. After 3 or 4 days, I didn't even miss it. Cold turkey walked away. My parents showed up for graduation. After graduation, we had time where we could just go hang out with our families. Dad hands me a can of Copenhagen. Yep, you're guessing right... I put one of those bastards in. 10 weeks clean, and it was all gone in a flash. Had 2 that day. The next day I left for AIT, parents saw me to the bus. Dad gave me the can back and a spare for the bus ride. I was instantly one of the most popular dudes on the bus. I had one every now and then in AIT, never had it in my barracks. Just on the weekends, you know, "with the boys".

So now, here I am, a shade over 10 years later and this crap is still following me around in my back pocket everyday. Oh, I've told me wife of almost 8 years now I was gonna quit. "After football season's over", "After hockey is done", "After hunting season", "I'll only have one when I go fishing", and on, and on, and on...

Well to quote Herb Brooks: "Not tonight". Well actually it was last night. Last night was IT. The final straw. We were sitting at the table, my wife, myself, and my almost 3 year-old mini-me. I looked over at him and saw him doing something kinda weird. He was acting like he had something in his hand. Make believe. Something all kids do. Only he was make-believing that he was putting a chew in like Dad. I was absolutely 100% speechless. That was IT. The end. Final. Fin. No Mas. No way in hell. I don't care if I imagine purple dragons with pink and green stripes are crawling out of my eye sockets, I'm done. Cold turkey. Me and a whole lotta water, a crap load of sugarfree gum, an occasional Diet Dew, and the Good Lord above.

I know I'm not a perfect Dad, far from it. But I have long said that I want one thing for my son, and that's to do it better than I did. I think today is the start of furthering that.

Good Bye Grizzly Fine Cut Wintergreen. ;) I would like to say I'll miss you, but I don't want to be a liar. You've had too much of my life these past 8 or so years.