This being late June, I don’t expect a snowstorm (make that, BLIZZARD) to come along and sandbag me. 🙂 Of course it wasn’t the blizzard anyway–it was the stuff in my own head. Basically, I needed to be on antidepressants and stop trying to be such an independent cuss. I was bone tired and I still missed (and do today) my dad, and one of my favorite cousins had just lost a foot–something none of us saw coming. I just got overwhelmed. I’m happy to say I’ve dealt with a lot of that ‘stuff’–through journaling, prayer, counseling and medications–and continue to do those things today.
Since answers and solutions often come to me through books, I prayed for a book that would help me wrap my mind around giving up cigarettes for good. That prayer was answered with “How to Stop Smoking and Stay Stopped”, by Gillian Riley. The material is excellent–very different from the usual litany of reasons why smoking is bad, Bad, BAD. (Duh. It’s bad? I didn’t know that! Silly me!”) If you’re wanting to quit, or know someone who wants to, get this book. You can either buy a copy at your favorite book store or download it from iTunes, as I did. (Hint: if you’re trying to get someone to quit by nagging and disapproving, STOP. You’re making bad matters worse. This is an addiction. Knowing that smoking is BAD isn’t enough–if it was, so many intelligent people wouldn’t be smoking in the face of mounting evidence that it’s killing them, now would they?) Smoking, or not smoking, definitely IS a choice–but being strong enough to make that choice is something else.
The Mary Ann Report: She is home and feeling so much better, she amazes herself. We keep reminding her that it’s too easy think she’s stronger than she really is, and she needs to rest. Now that she’s not smoking anymore, and she’s getting adequate oxygen, she is thinking much more clearly and sleeping soundly and deeply. ALL of us are thankful for your prayers and your good thoughts–they truly DO make a difference.
May God bless you, rebless you, and then bless you all over again.
