Literally (as it's daybreak here in Northern California) and figuratively as this will be day 9 since I quit.
I choose my screen name (Geronimo!) because while I was still smoking, quitting seemed a lot like jumping out of a plane without a parachute. I mean, it was a perfectly good plane right? I was safe and warm and eventually it will land right? Well, I knew that was wishful thinking. If I listened closely I could hear the engine starting to sputter, the landing gear was looking iffy and the wings were showing definite signs of wear. Only one way to survive, JUMP!!!
And so I did. No parachute (skydivers say you don't need a parachute unless you want to do it again. I don't want to do this again so I'm free falling).
I've quit three or four times before, once for a year, once for three months. What I'm holding on to for today is the certainty that if I fail, the cost will be measured in decades as that has been my pattern. I don't have too many of those left so FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.
Today, I will not smoke.