My Second Independence Day

How do people become slaves to things that are not good for their health? I remember when I was first introduced to cigarettes--a slender roll of tobacco enclosed in paper for smoking. My dear cousin who was a smoker for a few years herself showed me the "fine art" of being cool; Smoking!

At the time I learned how to smoke, it was a very classy thing to do; all the elegant people smoked. The movies showed the best-dressed and best-looking people smoking cigarettes. When I saw movie stars smoking with cigarette holders, it looked very French.

You know what they say about French people. I just wanted to be a part of that whole look. Talk about looking elegant and very chic--cigarette smoking was all of that. If you went to a club you were not completely dressed without one. I liked that look.

When I learned to smoke, there was no surgeon general warning on the packaging. I learned quickly. It only took a few coughs and burning of my eyes to get the hang of it.
That was nothing. I was young and adventurous. The temporary discomfort seemed a small price to pay. Little did I know…

Once I learned how, I was smoking every day, sometimes all day! Before breakfast, late at night. After every meal. Sometimes I would eat when I was not hungry just so I could have cig. I smoked to help me think better. What was I thinking? I smoked to relax, to calm down. I smoked when I was nervous. Oh, Hell! I had smoke coming from my ears and didn't even know it.

The price of cigarettes was a few coins when I started. I had to work cigarettes into my budget, though. I was just in elementary school, you know! My weekly budget was cigarettes first, then lunch, candy, comic books, and if I had any money left, I got my personal things. I never had enough to get the personal things I needed. Oh, so what!

I smoked for years before I realized this lifestyle was becoming a pain in the neck. All my clothes smelled like cigarettes, even the clean ones. My hair, my skin down to the fingertips reeked of smoke. I could spot another smoker a mile away. Smokers have that odor that cannot be covered up by any other scent. Perfumes made it worse.

The appeal of smoking was gone. I wanted to stop. I tried everything but nothing worked. The day I got my independence was the day I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I wanted more than anything to have a baby and I wanted it to be healthy. The negative effect of smoking could be passed on to my unborn--I knew that. I stopped the very day the doctor told me the blessed news. Smoking cigarettes lost its appeal. Having a healthy baby meant more to me.

Cigarettes cost about $30.00 monthly if you are an average smoker today. Think of all you could do with an extra $30.00 a month. I have not smoked in over twenty years. I still think of myself as classy and sometimes when I go out, I can look very elegant too! I owe it all to my first-born. July 23 is my second Independence Day; that is when my first child was born. He was the reason I quit smoking, and he was born a very healthy baby boy!

Do you want Carol to speak on a particular topic? Would you like her insight on a situation you're dealing with? E-mail Carol!--> Carol M.

Carol M. is a freelance advice columnist and working mother. She has three boys two of which she has raised to adulthood. She is now a grandma of two and currently works for the Human Resources Administration. She has known numerology since her second child who is now twenty-one years old. She says she uses numerology in her everyday life and finds it to be very helpful.
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