[OLS]

My dad used to putter around in his shop in the back yard, working on this or that, fixing
this, inventing that. When he would come across something that required a little thought,
he would light one up. Of course, he smoked in the house watching TV, too, but this was
one of his triggers. Thinking on problems, bedtime, post meals, etc...those were his triggers.
After his cancer diagnosis, he quit smoking naturally. My mother would see him sometimes
in the shop or the yard, he would stop, wipe his sweat, clean his glasses and pat his
pocket where he used to keep his smokes. He would pat it every couple minutes as if
somehow he had forgotten that he had no smokes there. You could just see the pathway
in his mind that this constant reinforcement and addiction had created. It's all about
beating the system, exercising power over the mind. It will present all of your toughest challenges.
But its totally do-able, especially when your REAL incentive is not yourself. My mother,
like I said, couldn't BELIEVE I could watch my father die from what his cigs had done,
see the effects of cancer, and I could still smoke. Bless her heart, she thought it was
all about others. It was all about me, my pleasure, my addiction, my choice. That's why
we lie to the ones we love. "Oh, I quit a long time ago." Of course our hair still smells
like cigs....we can wash our hands, but our clothes and hair tell on us. If its about your
child, you will be able to do it. A couple more days an you can be home free. You have
my sympathies and my support.