Gloria,

Wishing you a very Happy Five Year anniversary as a non smoker! You truly have achieved what at first felt overwhelmingly impossible. Hope you are celebrating freedom from the nicotine addiction today.  I am so happy you got to move to the beach and I hope you are loving it there.

Hello Gloria,

Could not finish this day without congratulating my best quit buddy on five years smoke free!  You have battled and earned your wings. I hope you are doing something special for yourself today.  Toasting a remote glass of champagne to you.  Cheers to your five years kicking nicodemon butt and cheers to many more years smoke free!

Hey Molly,

We Made it...we EARNED our wings!!!! I am ecstatic!! I was quite busy the end of July and did not want to post before July 30th. I just don't think about smoking anymore (thank God). I am still a Smoke-free warrior.  So much has gone on this year. I am living in Norfolk, VA in a one BR apt. I HATE it! Everything is convenient as I can walk to the bank, drugstore, restaurants, animal hospital, shops, YMCA BUT I don't feel safe walking as an Old lady with a purse. I feel like I would be a target. Also my brother became seriously ill in March and I have been driving the 5 hrs back to Martinsville, VA to check on him. His daugh (my niece) asked me if I could help with driving him to chemo and I agreed. I am the only retiree in the family at this time so my other siblings would have to take off work to drive him. He is undergoing aggressive chemo at this time. I feel an urge to return to Martinsville. I had almost decided to buy another home vs. apt living before he got sick. The housing and rental shortage is very real. For rent control I am going to buy another house and will be moving back to Mville to help take care of my brother. I will have closure now with Norfolk, VA and living near the beach. I will just come and enjoy yearly for a 2 week vacation.  Mville more affordable and my family (siblings) still there. 

SO thankful to be smokefree for 5 yrs now. I NEVER think about smoking and have earned my wings. HOW SWEET IT IS!!!

Gloria - Freedom & peace since 30 Jul 2018.

Hey JR,

So happy to hear from you. Thanks for remembering "our" anniversary.  (I remember when you first quit on 29 July!)  I hope you are enjoying your retirement since you quit work last year. I am sitting here looking at the walls every day in this apt which cost 3x more than my house payment in Martinsville. So much more to do here but I am still alone and don't want to go to many outings alone. I did go to a free concert on 8/2 at Virginia Beach oceanfront to see Arrested Development. I really enjoyed it. Why I moved here to have more things to do. But my heart and physical body are pulling me back to Mville now that my older brother is seriously ill and fighting for his life. When I see him, I don't have to ask anyone how he is doing--I can tell. He is now on the battlefield fighting for his life. And I have been able to be supportive and help him understand that he needed to stop smoking as he has been hospitalized a few times and was gonna have surgery and would not heal well while smoking. Everyone assumed it would be SO easy to quit smoking but we know better, don't we? Even when he was hospitalized for 10 days saying he thought it will be easy for him to quit. I knew he would return back to smoking once he got out of hospital because it is an addiction!! And since he lives alone he was gonna try to hide his smoking. I think he has actually stopped now for good hopefully. I have not seen him since June as our nephew stepped in and has been staying with my brother and taking him to Chemo. I am going back to Mville to visit next week to check on him and look at houses for sale.  Martinsville is more affordable and a house pymt will be cheaper than a one room apartment in Norfolk (and a whole lot SAFER for an old woman). I will return to country living vs. urban living/problems. My little doggie will have a yard again soon. I can return to the beach for vacation yearly to enjoy (vs. living here).

My email address is the same so please em me if you like. I have earned my wings and been smokefree for 5 years. HOW SWEET IT IS!!!

Gloria

All fellow quitters,

I have earned and found my Wings now. Thanks for the support of this forum. 

Later.

Gloria - Joyful & freedom since 30 July 2018...HOW SWEET IT IS!!!

Sorry to you all that I have not been following up on my reading on the forum and am tardy in congratulation all of you on 5 years quit. Big accomplishment!! I think back from time to time to 2018 and how focused we were for months to one thing in our lives. Seems like so long ago. I rarely think about smoking, since I don't run into a smoker around me very often and always keep in mind that I would rather be an ex smoker who occasionally thinks about smoking than be a smoker again who would always think about quitting. Saving all this money is good too. 

Gloria, I am so sorry to hear about your brother and hope that you all find the strength to face the challenging days and wish you the opportunity to enjoy the good days. 

Life is proceeding onward here in Oregon. Just yard work, golf and yard work. Been too hot here lately (90-100) and looking forward to the fall and change in weather. Nothing much else planned. Plan to hit Europe somewhere next year, but staying home this year. 

Hope all else is well for everyone and health is following your quitting success. I hope everyone who is quitting on this forum will read about your achievement and know that the same is available to them as time marches on. Good to see you all here.

Congratulations Smoke Free Warriors 2018! Celebrating 5 YEARS SMOKE FREE 2023! YAY Lori, Gloria, Molly, and JR!  

I apologize for being so late congratulating everyone and getting these posted. So much going on recently, nonetheless, I'm so happy for each of you and for all of us celebrating 5 years in 2023. Amazing isn't it? Best wishes to you all my friends.  

Have a great day.  

Have a great day.  

Have a great day.  

Have a great day.