Death of a good friend – I mean – Breaking the bonds of nicotine addiction – The Aftermath

So I’ve officially been nicotine free for 2 and a half months! Woohoo!

I only miss it once in awhile now – like when we went to a bar after work to see a good friend off (and that was only initially – once engaged in conversation, all thoughts of smoking vanished), or when I am engaged in creative work (that one’s almost gone), and when I’m knee deep in planning for an intercontinental move with pets, one kid going off to college, and a whole host of family and friends I’d like to see in a ridiculously short time frame (this is why wine is popular among trailing spouses of federal employees).

Do I feel infinitely better off physically? No, not really. In fact I’ve had to look up a few things (thank you Web MD!) about the actual facts of quitting smoking, like increased shortness of breath and tightness in the chest (D would like a dollar for every time I ask him about whether or not he thinks I’m having a heart attack – or whether that spot is skin cancer. But that’s a different subject.) – these are normal by the way, as your body gets used to breathing normally and mostly normal air again – or digestive issues (won’t go into it, but those are normal too). I’ve still got a crazy sensitve throat and I’d like for that to stop soon. I also seem to find a lot of our regular meals a lot more spicy than I used to. Guess I’ll have to retrain my taste buds…

BUT…I’m not so distracted by the need to smoke, and I’m a whole lot richer financially (so won’t tell you how much cuz it’s just embarrassing here – and I’m not even a pack-a-day smoker). The stain on my front tooth (you know the one next to the snaggle tooth?) is pretty much gone now. And I have confidence that I’ll start seeing some physical benefits soon.