GUS (Gave Up Smoking) is a community support diary for Kossacks in the midst of quitting smoking. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are quitting or thinking of quitting (or want to support quitters), please - join us! We kindly ask that politics be left out.
You can also click the GUS tag to view all diary posts, or access the GUS Library at dKosopedia for a great list of stop-smoking links. Check it out! Want to make sure you never miss us? Follow (♥) the GUS tag to keep GUS in your Stream.
A message to all quitters: you don't have to avoid GUS if your latest attempt to quit didn't work out. We won't give you a bad time and we consider the attempted quits as "practice" for the real quit.
(Borrowing some sentiments from GUSsack FrugalGranny, because she summed up my feelings really well -- thanks, FG!)
I will be here throughout the boycott. It doesn't mean that I don't agree with the boycott or think badly of it. I just feel that I should be here in case any of you are new to the idea of quitting or have quit and are feeling stressed and need to talk. Sometimes just having someone there means the difference between a quit attempt working or not. I don't want the absence of GUS to be the tipping point for anyone who is struggling. I'm leaving the porch light on for the regulars and look forward to their return. As always, we miss 'em like crazy when they're gone. This will be my only comment on the matter as it's best left OUT of GUS.
Haven't been around here much for the last few days, or even online a whole lot. I had family to visit, and family visiting me. Between the various comings and goings, and the (mostly Facebook & phone-based) logistical planning it takes to pull off crossing two state lines twice in two days, attending six different events over four days, and seeing four different configurations of family around everyone's busy and fairly random schedules (not to mention all the juggling it takes to clear the decks at work so I could take a day off)...well, somehow, I ran out of time for Daily Kos and pretty much everything else. Hey, it happens!
That's not to say it wasn't worth it; it totally was. Spent the first part of it in Cambridge with family, and once I got back to Maine, I spent the evening packing for the second part of the weekend: headin' Upta Camp.
In my home state, we have an unusual statistic: a higher percentage of Maine residents own a second property than nearly anywhere else in the country. Now before you get all jealous, let's put that in perspective. Maine ranks 34th of 50 states in per capita income, and even that figure is artificially inflated by a scattering of coastal millionaire retirees. Most of these second properties aren't big, fancy beach houses (though some are), or even little, un-fancy ones (if your family was fortunate enough to have inherited one of those and hung onto it during the Giant Ocean McMansion Era), in fact, far from it.
No, most of these properties are rural ones. And when I say "rural," I mean it: these places are in the middle of the woods, only marginally (or seasonally) accessible, and they may or may not contain a permanent structure. Might just be a speck of an acre at the end of a dirt road featuring a clearing in the woods where you pitch a tent or park your camper. There's a spring or stream nearby if you're lucky, otherwise you haul your water in with you. Or your second property might be a riverside or lake cabin assembled by some distant relative, generations ago, in the days before planning boards, zoning restrictions, and power tools. Some are winterized (especially the ones that do double duty as a hunting lodge or ice fishing camp), but most of 'em are not. We don't call them "vacation homes" or "lake houses" or even "cabins," we call them "camps." In a heavily wooded, outdoorsy, underpopulated and underpaid state, a week Upta Camp is a bargain vacation for a family trying to get by. It often was for us.
I spent part of my childhood visiting family members (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents) who either owned or rented a little group of these camps on a small pond in central York County, Maine every summer. One year, 1974, we spent nearly the whole summer there, from chilly early June through the Nixon resignation and right up to the end of August. It was all very basic: electricity (unless there was a storm that knocked down power lines), but no indoor toilet; you couldn't drink the tap water, and your heat, if you needed it (and it's Maine, so you did need it on occasion) was courtesy of a pot-bellied wood stove. The rooms were tiny, the bugs roamed free, the walls were raw wood and paper-thin, and you were always tripping over something (usually something wet and covered in pine needles, and if you were lucky, not moving).
But it was also beautiful there in the woods, with a crystal-clear pond just steps away, spectacular sunsets, and loons echoing in the near-perfect darkness of the night. The food wasn't fancy, probably a bit too reliant on white bread and peanut butter, hotdogs and burgers, baked beans and beer. The grownups played Cribbage and listened to Red Sox games on the radio, read dog-eared old magazines or musty-smelling books. Sometimes, usually on rainy days, you gathered around the static-plagued black & white TV and hoped for good reception so you could watch "your programs" or you tried in vain to assemble 1000-piece puzzles with a bunch of pieces missing. We were always in the water, especially the kids...endlessly flinging ourselves off the end of the dock or swimming out to the little raft; I don't think my suit ever completely dried. It was the last time I got to be relatively carefree, and it was pretty awesome, all things considered.
When my cousin let us know that she and her husband were renting the camp that used to belong to her grandparents, and invited us all down for a visit, I was thrilled. I knew I'd get to revisit a bit of my past, and see relatives I spend too little time with these days. We're scattered all over the place now, some hundreds of miles away; it's not as easy as it used to be to get together and shoot the breeze.
The camp itself was a blast from the past too. The new owners had modernized it a bit and changed a few things (it's now painted white, not red; the fridge is modern and doesn't wheeze and rattle), but it was still recognizable, and had the same lovely lake view. I kept stumbling across things they'd kept intact: a set of Fire King coffee mugs, a kitchen lamp, the old single bed with the lake view where Grammie slept when she stayed over, and -- miracle of miracles -- the penciled height chart lines on the exposed wooden beams, marking the growth of my Aunt and then her kids, my cousins, over the decades. The place smelled the same, too...except it's now a non-smoking camp, something that would've drawn a good laugh or a puzzled expression back in the day. I'd been a little apprehensive about socializing in a group where someone might be smoking, so I was pleasantly surprised.
Not only was inside smoking not a problem, but it turned out to be an entirely smoke-free visit. And that led to a really interesting conversation with two of my cousins; we ended up talking about how we each decided to quit, and the different paths we took to get there.
Most of you know my story: I'm a cold turkey quitter who had made a gazillion half-assed attempts to cut back, only to decide one day on the spur of the moment to be done with them; I haven't smoked since. It's been seven years this summer.
My younger cousin had wanted to quit after her father's death from a smoking-related heart attack, but it wasn't until she had some issues with her own blood pressure that she finally reached out for help through her doctor. She got smoking cessation counseling and a prescription for Chantix and that was all she wrote; she's been smoke-free for a while now and is doing well.
My other cousin was like me, a late but dedicated convert to smoking (we both picked it up in college), but she had a tough time quitting until she was diagnosed with a serious illness a couple of years ago. Her treatment was physically draining and her mother moved in to help her through it...and since she had never smoked in front of her Mom, and since she was so ill from the treatment, she went quite a while without smoking before she recognized that she had an opportunity to quit. She considered the patch, but realized she had already gone through nicotine detox, so there was no point. Instead, she learned to deal with the fidgets by taking up jewelry-making (she makes great beaded earrings). So far, so good.
Each of us had different reasons for quitting. They had spouses and kids who supported their efforts to quit, which undoubtedly helped; I could be as cranky as I liked and not worry about biting a loved one's head off. We all have different kinds of jobs, but laughed when we discovered we'd all had remarkably similar smoking patterns (not many smokes during the day; chain-smoke a whole pile of them once work is over or if you were going out and socializing). Cold Turkey worked for two of us, but under wildly different circumstances; the other did a clinically supervised quit. Two of us had medical reasons for quitting; for me, it was mostly about the cost and taking control. I'm so proud of them--heck, I'm proud of ALL of us!--for managing to pull it off. God knows life has thrown enough crap at each one of us to give us ample reason to go back to it, if only to manage the stress. Somehow, we've managed to avoid it so far, but I'll knock wood anyway.
In the end, we all ended up taking a different path to our quit, but we discovered (unlike the fabled Maine tourist in the days before Google Maps and GPS) you CAN get there from here. Wherever you are in your quit, whatever your circumstances or reasons for quitting, however many tries it takes...you CAN get there.
Current members of the GUS team:
1BQ, 3rdGenFeminist, Abra Crabcakeya, Actbriniel, addisnana, AfroPonix, aishmael, Alise, Alpha99, A Man Called Gloom, ambeeeant, American in Kathmandu, amk for obama, andsarahtoo, angry marmot, Anne933, anodnhajo, aoeu, aquarius2001, arcadesproject, Archie2227, arodb, Arthur Wolf (in memoriam), assyrian64, awkawk, b4uknowit, bamablue, BARAKABETH, barnowl, b barrie, bdizz, beatpanda, BFSkinner, bgblcklab1, BigAlinWashSt, Bike Crash, BirderWitch, BJKay, bleeding heart, blingbling65, blue husky, Blue Intrigue, BlueJessamine, bluestatedem84, BoiseBlue, Brahman Colorado, breedlovinit, BrenP, BrowniesAreGood, bsmechanic, buddabelly, burrow owl, BusyinCa, Carol in San Antonio, CathodeRay, CathiefromCalifornia, cee4, Cen Den, ChiTownDenny, ChocolateChris, ChurchofBruce, ciganka, cinnamondog, citizenx, Cleante, Code Monkey, codobus, Coldblue Steele, Colorado is the Shiznit, coloradomomma, commonmass, Common Sense Mainer, congenitalefty, coppercelt, dadanation, Dave in AZ, dangoch, Dauber, Dauphin, demkat620, Dexter, Diana in NoVa, Dickie, DiegoUK, Dingodude, dirtdude, distraught, djMikulec, dolfin66, donnamarie, Donna O, dotsright, DRo, droogie6655321, duckhunter, Eclectablog, Eddie C, EdgedInBlue, effervescent, elbamash, El barragas, el vasco, ericlewis0, Everest42, Ex Con, fhamme, Fineena, fiona2, fishhawk, Flea, FlipperWaves, flumptytail, fritzi56, FrugalGranny, Garrett, Gator, gchaucer2, GDbot, Geiiga, Georgianna Darcy, glpaul, GN1927, gooderservice, gooners, gravlax, greylox, grndrush, GrumpyWarriorPoet, gzodik, Haole in Hawaii, HappyinNM, henlesloop, HeyMikey, hideinplainsight, High Tide, hiliner68, hold tight, hulibow, I love OCD, Im a frayed knot, imisa, Indexer, indubitably, indyada, Interceptor7, inventor, I said GOOD DAY sir, itsbenj, Jahiz, JamesEB, janl1776, JayinPortland, jayjaybear, jbou, Jeffersonian Democrat, jmadlc55, jmonch, Joe's Steven aka Steven, john07801, johngoes, jsfox, JVolvo's Mom, jwinIL14, kai99, kailuacaton, Kamakhya, kat herder, Kelly of PA, kestrel9000, khloemi, Khun David, Kitsap River, kittania, Kodiak54, Kristina40, Ksholl, LABWITCH, Lady Kestrel, ladypockt, Lahdee, langerdang, LarsThorwald, LA rupert, last starfighter, LaughingPlanet, Laurie Gator, Lipstick Liberal, litoralis, lmdonovan, lockewasright, longislandny, luvsathoroughbred, maggiemay, magicsister, mango, Marc in KS, marknspokane, maryabein, Matt Esler, mdemploi, Meteor Blades, Micburke, michael1104, MillieNeon, Minerva1157, MinervainNH, Missys Brother, mjbleo, MnRaindog, mntleo2, Morague, Mr Bojangles, mrsgoo, mskitty, msmacgyver, MsWings, nannyboz, ncsuLAN, NearlyNormal, Nedsdag, Nick Zouroudis, notgivingup, NY brit expat, one pissed off democrat, operculum, OrangeMike, Ordvefa, OverTheEdge, pager, paige, PaintyKat, paradox, parryander, Pennsylvanian, phrogge prince, Positronicus, post rational, Proud Mom and Grandma, psycho liberal, ptolemynm, Purple Priestess, PvtJarHead, racheltracks, randallt, real world chick, red mittens, Reepicheep, regis, relentless, revelwoodie, revsue, Rex Manning, rexymeteorite, RiaD, rickeagle, ridemybike, rightiswrong, rincewind, rkex, roadlion, Roger Fox, Rosebuddear, roses, rscopes, Rudini, Safina, SallyCat, Sark Svemes, sboucher, scooter in brooklyn, Scrapyard Ape, seenaymah, sfbob, sgary, Shahryar, sheddhead, Shifty18, shmuelman, shopkeeper, slowbutsure, smartcookienyc, smeesq, snoopydawg, snorwich, SnyperKitty, SoCalHobbit, sofia, soonergrunt, sostos, sowsearsoup, SpecialKinFlag, spmozart, spotDawa, SpotTheCat, StateofGrace, Statusquomustgo, stiffneck, sunbro, Super Grover, tallmom, Tay, tdslf1, teknospaz, theatre goon, The Eyewitness Muse, TheGeneral, TheStoopingRabbit, TigerMom, tiredofcrap, TomP, tonyahky, Toyotabob7, Treefrog, triciawyse, trs, trueblueliberal, ttanner, Tulsonian, Turn VABlue, Turtle Bay, Tyto Alba, uc booker, UncleCharlie, Unduna, Unforgiven, ursoklevar, USArmyParatrooper, VA02 femocrat, Vacationland, valadon, Vayle, Vetwife, vgranucci, waytac, webranding, weelzup, Wes Opinion, Whimsical Rapscallion, willy be frantic, willy mugobeer, Wood Dragon, wolfie1818, Wordsinthewind, Wreck Smurfy, x, xopher, yet another liberal, Zotz
Had some experience with the effects of smoking?
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Diarists in regularly-scheduled time slots are listed in bold.
Tue PM: Vacationland
Wed AM: labwitchy ☣
Wed PM: FrugalGranny ❀
Thu AM: Open
Thu PM: anodnhajo ♫♪♫
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Fri PM: Open
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(aoeu ☮ taking a break)
Help!! As you can see, we still have a bunch of open slots on the schedule, and it may be quiet around here this week. If you can spare a few hours, please consider hosting! Not sure where to start? Go here to find out how to write a GUS diary the easy way, or just ask for help in the Butt Can (Tip Jar). Seriously, it doesn't have to include specific elements or require all sorts of fabulous diary formatting skills. The regulars will make sure stuff gets carried over from diary to diary, so if you want to just tell your story and host for a few hours, that's cool too!