Now that I am back on the wagon (so to speak) and I have been smoke-free for several days since the incident where I smoked just one, I am feeling much better and I have a renewed sense of resolve.

From now on, I will not put myself in positions where I am likely to be tempted until I’ve been smoke-free for at least three months.

To give me even more resolve, I recently had a few of my non-smoker friends telling me how much my smoking habit annoyed them. I asked them why they never mentioned this to me before and of course they responded that they didn’t want to hurt my feelings or make me mad at them. Honestly, I probably would have been offended.

They mentioned that they didn’t like that we all had to sit in the smoking section, even if I was the only smoker. They didn’t like having smoke around them when they were eating. I felt bad. They also mentioned that no one liked to ride with me because I smoked and my car stunk. Okay, so that really hurt.

Yet surprisingly, these comments have only given me additional fuel in my fight against smoking. I don’t want to be that friend that my other friends just put up with the smoking because they love me. I want the time that they spend around me to be completely enjoyable to them, and now it is and I love that.

–BETH