This afternoon was a scorcher here in North Georgia, but I took up the invite to go for a little bicycle ride. We rode for close to an hour and maybe 6 or 7 miles. It sure seemed like most of the ride was uphill too! So what am I celebrating?
It was 96 days ago that I took the last puff from a cigarette, and it's been a few weeks now since I've been off the patch. Three months ago I took nearly the same ride and I couldn't even top the first hill without stopping to catch my breath. Today's journey was non-stop. Sure, it almost killed me, but the key word is almost. :D
If you've even thought about stopping smoking, keep thinking about it. The day I quit was actually spontaneous - I was tired of being sick and (correctly it seems) had a feeling that a lot of that was directly attributable to smoking. But I had been thinking about quitting for a considerable time. After 40 years there was no 'taste', there was no 'sexy allure' and there was no cool. It was just a nasty habit and I knew it.
The money I haven't spent on tobacco has financed new camping gear. In two weeks I'm headed to the Allegheny N.F. with 10,000 friends for a week of frolicking and meditation and lots of drumming deep in the woods. Looking forward to the summer!
