greetings. working on quitting. [View all]

it takes a special kind of stupid to start smoking at 60, but getting divorced after 30 years will do that to you. i swore i would quit when the divorce was final, but that is still dragging on after a year and a half.
was at a pack a day, and coughing like an old steam engine. so, i decided to start the quit by limiting myself to a half a pack.

it has been a month now, and it is working out pretty well. i have kept to my promise for the most part, tho occasionally mooching one or 2, or taking one from the next days stash. had one day when i was stuck in traffic half the day, and had picked up a pack when i hit the road. but that was the only big cheat.
from the start, i only buy one pack at a time, which is good. only broke that one on said stuck in traffic day, as i was in wis, where they are significantly cheaper than in chicago.
when i buy a pack i immediately split it in 2. it is making my very aware of my habit, because i am constantly counting how many i have left.
it is giving my something to answer my addictive voice.

it is getting easier to space them out over the day. gotta save that last one for after dinner. also not lighting up first thing in the morning, because every other day i have to go buy a pack before i can light up. so i make myself wait until i have had a cup of coffee.

the cough is starting to lighten up. i even slept pretty well the last couple nights. that there is the worst part. that cough kills my sleep.
one other good reason to quit is that my gall bladder has been acting up from time to time and my surgeon of choice will not operate on smokers. must be quit for 2 months. a pee test is part of the pre-surg testing. not knowing when or if it is going to act up enough to come to that hangs in my mind a bit, even when it is quiet.

once the divorce is final i will be on a fixed income, so i will have another good reason to quit. really looking forward to being a non-smoker again.

anyway, just wanted to say hi now, before the crazy starts to set in.