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Share your quitting journey

Rememberance and Gratitude

tburton1004
Member
7 7 107
‎03-21-2024 11:26 AM

Hi, all. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on Ex and it’s so great to see all you quit warriors. Today is one year since my dear Dad passed away. He had end stage COPD and it was terribly cruel to see its effects. He was a vibrant, whip smart, funny and loving guy whose lungs just gave out on him. I miss him terribly. He died not quite 5 years after my beloved Mom died from stage 4 lung cancer. Smoking killed them both. Damn, I miss them so much.

My counter says I’m 675 days smober today, and my second anniversary is coming up on May 16. This community is what got me through. Period. These people. You. Your support, encouragement, experience, wisdom, and generosity in taking the time to help those who want to break free of smoking’s terrible grasp. Today I remember, and I am so grateful. Love and thanks to you all. YOU CAN DO THIS! Freedom is beautiful.

Cheers, Terry 675 Days of Freedom

7 Comments
About the Author
I am a recently retired artist, educator, filmmaker, and all-around slightly domesticated wild child who loves to howl at the moon. I am the daughter of two nicotine addicts, and my mom was also an alcoholic. She found AA and reclaimed her authentic seIf. She paid it forward and helped countless others find their way through. She had been a smoker since her high school days, as had my dad, and quit when my dad was diagnosed with very early stage lung cancer in 1993. They both quit on the spot, over 30 years ago, but my dear mom passed away from stage 4 lung cancer in May 2018. My dad was virtually crippled by COPD the last couple of years and he passed March 2023. I miss them both so much. Smoking killed both of them. I vowed all my life that I would never smoke, so go figure, for some idiot reason I started smoking in 2009. Now I’m free. I enjoy building tables out of reclaimed wood and love working in my shop. I have a massive model train project that has “this will take YEARS” written all over it! I love gardening, camping, reading, and drawing. I am married to the best of wives and best of women, over 15 years now. We’re looking forward to travels and adventures and just being together in this wonderful state of retirement!