I LOVE this photo! It's about how I feel right now.
All the years of being off and on the QSMB and now here are past, and I have finally arrived at a time when smoking is just a dim memory. How could I ever have smoked in the first place?!
Did you know that -- did I mention -- I started smoking because my daughter was moving home from the college dorms? We were sitting outside under a dark, hot middle eastern sky on the porch swing, and she said she had to tell me something. "You're pregnant?" "NO!" She said, "I smoke."
"No problem," says I. So I schemed. I started smoking for camaraderie and thought, "I'll smoke for a few months and then I'll quit and she'll see how easy it is, and she'll quit, too."
Unbelievable hubris.
She quit six years ago. She had quit during her pregnancy, but started in after she quit nursing the baby. She realized how stupid it was to go out on the porch and leave her toddler in the play pen, so she quit.
And, speaking of stupid, I couldn't get myself to keep a quit. I struggled so hard and long.
It just takes a big enough "Why," but I couldn't convince myself. Then the coronavirus hit, and that's all it took. Ya smoke, ya get the virus, ya die.
I would probably have started up again by now, though, except that I've found the stock market. My portfolio is up more than 30% after less than three months, and I learn more every day about how to create and maintain a profitable portfolio. (I'm a buy and hold, not an active or day trader).
Throughout all of this time, Doreen, I remember you being on the forum and so supportive. Your participation and support have meant a lot.
Thank you
Kate