Decide.
That I think is the first step in quitting. When I decided to quit, I was trying to have my first morning cigarette. With each drag, I would go into a coughing fit. When the coughing stopped and I could catch my breath, I would try again with the same result. My cough was keeping me from enjoying my cigarette. My body had rebelled and fought smoking to a draw. Some would see a solution to this problem quicker than I. It dawned on me that smoking was going to kill me. Smoking was playing for keeps and would give no quarter. I had a deadly adversary. I of course had heard this many times before and ignored it. How could something I enjoyed so much be bad for me (the lies smokers tell themselves are unbelievable). But as I struggled that morning with smokers’ hack, I did something I hadn’t done before, I decided to quit.
Now after twelve years it seems so obvious and simple (easy peasy). Some have the decision to quit forced on them while others quit on a whim. It doesn’t matter how you reach this point, as long as you do. If you haven’t quit, decide to do it. If you have quit, stand by your decision with pride. It’s one of the best ones I’ve ever made.
I have dry cured and aged a country ham for 18 months, which I’ll have on my birthday. My garden was attacked by a groundhog and I lost the lettuce, kale, parsley and green beans. It doesn’t seem to like eggplant, peppers, zucchini or cherry tomatoes.
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