Ok, it’s time to quit smoking once and for all!!! My wife and I have decided that this is the right time to toss these crazy things in the old can for the final time and never look back! We have been smoking ever since we met 22 years ago. So here we go!!!

I had my first smoke when I was about 14 or so and I’m 45 now (holy shit where did the time go?) so that is way too long to of had this albatross wrapped around my neck. I’m finding that quitting smoking is not all that hard, but I must admit that this time, it has had it’s moments.

Using no drugs or gum, I’m off to a great start. My wife is a heavier smoker than I am (I smoked about 5 cigarettes a day) so she’s trying to quit by using Zyban and so far that’s working very well for her so why mess with a good thing, right?

There has been no increase in the intake of junk food but I have had an increase in more calorie wise snacks to help with the cravings. I’m staying away from chips, chocolate and empty calories like they’re the plague. I don’t want one bad habit to take over another one, that’s not all that wise now is it?!

I had my first smoke up in a tree fort in my neighbour’s backyard that was directly behind my parent’s home. There was me and these 2 other guys, I cannot remember their names for the life of me right now, in this really cool tree fort that we all helped put together. I have some very fond memories of this fortress in the sky that we all built and my first smoke is definitely a part of it.

Throughout high school I smoked a fair bit. A pack lasted me in the area of 2 weeks? I took a year and a half off after high school and during that time I had quit cold turkey. Then there was college! The amount that I smoked went up to about 1 pack a week and then there was the time that I tried rolling them myself and man was that a lot cheaper. The tobacco was called Drum and it had this really neat blue bag. I also found that Drum didn’t really hurt my lungs as much as the store bought ones. I was always doing these breathing exercises that I used for my vocal exercises all the time and man do they work.

Then after college I was smoking here and there, I was basically a social smoker. If I didn’t have any cigarettes then I didn’t smoke. I could take it or leave it, I was one of the lucky ones for sure! In the past year or so I’ve been smoking about 5 (sometimes more) cigarettes a day.

So now we both have come to the conclusion that it is time to quit for life! I’ve slowed down a ton the past 2 – 3 months, I know that I have gone on crazy cigarette binges from time to time due to stupidity, but I wouldn’t discount alcohol as a prime factor.

I had a heart scare many years ago and they still don’t know exactly what was the trigger for it. Right then and there in the ER resuscitation room I quit smoking, drinking, coffee, tea, chocolate and peanuts all at once! It lasted for about 1 year and then I had them slowly trickle back into my life. I shouldn’t have started again!

As I said earlier my wife is a heavier smoker than I am and when we both decided to quit she wanted me to be sure I wouldn’t start again since I don’t smoke as heavily and have an easier time stopping smoking than she does. Believe me, now that she’s quitting, if I do start again she’s going to be extremely upset with me because it could cause her to start up again.

So here we both are right now at another cross road our life and I hope that we can run with the ball of being smoke free right into the end zone of life!!! Wish us both luck … just in case you know?!

Keep on Jammin’