Windy, I'm not sure if this is appropriate for your thread or not, but it's the first thing that popped into my head after reading your post, so I'm just going to go for it. Life is full of changes, some are expected and we work hard for them, like graduating high school (hopefully, lol), graduating college (for some), landing your first real job, moving out of the your parents house (yahoo). These are usually pretty exciting events and during these events we are growing more and more independent, but we are also evolving and changing as a person, doing things differently than we had when we were just two years younger. Then we have marriage, now I'm not sure about anybody else...but that first year was full of adjustments. You went from being independent to sharing your life and decisions with another human, and you made adjustments and learned as you went. Some things you had to give up or make concessions on, but we did it and managed. Even if the marriage didn't work out, we were still "different" than we were when we were first married, and we all learned something. Then for some of us, we had children (OMG what were we thinking, lol, just kidding), this created major changes in our lives, 10 months of expecting and anticipation. The baby arrives and all of a sudden you are a mother or a father, nothing is the same after that, it's all different. But what did we do, we adjusted, we maybe longed for the days we could sleep in, but those were long gone, at least for awhile, we longed to wear a shirt that didn't have spit up or baby food splattered on it, but eventualy we will wear clean shirts again. We couldn't wait for them to say their first word....then once they started talking, we couldn't wait until bedtime at night. But we changed and we were the same but different, we learned new things and gave up old ideals as we went along. As I look back on all the different changes in my life, quitting smoking is just another chapter of up's and down's and adjustments, and changes in my life. Once this is completed, I won't be the same, I will be different, but as in the past, I will adjust and I will be learning new things as I go and giving up old ideals. I'm not if this makes any sense to you windy, but like I said, I just went

Windy check out "Avoid Relapsing and Slipping", the thread entitled.."This is why you think about smoking..." I just finished reading it and it was very informative and may give you some answers to your question here. Thinking about you... Monica58 [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/31/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 21 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 437 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $189 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 10 [B]Seconds:[/B] 19

Hi Windy, I agree with all of the posts so far.. Especially with Casey - it is a major lifestyle adjustment. Speaking for myself.. I don't remember what it was like not to smoke, therefore smoking was my "normal" for about 30 yrs. That's a long "normal" period of time.. so, I think for me it may take several years to feel normal without a cigarette - and I expect there will always be triggers and fights and some craves way on down THAT road. But I will fight those feelings and as Casey said..NEVER let my guard down. Unsure if any of the above made sense.. but that's my take on feeling "normal". (((((((((((hugz)))))))))) Monica58 [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/31/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 21 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 436 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $189 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 7 [B]Seconds:[/B] 18

Hey Windy: far be it from me to chime in on this one, being my 1st go around. But chiming I go anyway, (I never know when to shut my mouth...just ask my wife) It seems to me based on the post's that I have seen, That it is going to take awhile to adjust. I mean look at the meters of alot of the regulars, alot hovering around a year quit...and more. They are still coming here for support...whether to give or to recieve. I feel giving support is the best support I can give myself. So to answer your question bluntly: in about a year or 10 you'll start feeling "normal". Remember how you felt when you were at my stage of your quit? (hint: I feel like a freak as far as normalcy goes,lol)....how much more normal do you feel now? I hope this helps, Windy signed -looking abit less like a cyclops everyday! AKA-dunedad(kevin) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 11/7/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 14 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 295 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $64.4 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 2 [B]Mins:[/B] 10 [B]Seconds:[/B] 56

I'm sure there are a lot of answers to this. Each person will experience it differently. At the risk of repeating myself, I have quit a number of times. Once for 7 years, twice for about 3 years and then a few short ones as well (months). The way it works for me is there are milestones at about 3 weeks, 2 months and 6 months. For me, 6 months was the one where I felt pretty normal during the first quit. These last few times I have re-quit after re-starting for periods of about 6 months on average. In other words, this particular (and last) quit I am doing right now is easier. I feel like I am already at about the 3 month point. I don't really "crave" much and am not thinking about smoking much, either. I am sort of depressed feeling. Anyway, one thing I do know is that it will get better for you. QM [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/16/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 36 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 735 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $144 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 26 [B]Seconds:[/B] 54

Windy, everything you said I feel! word for word. Please get out of my brain! lol i'm on day 65 and like you for the most part i'm over the desperate need for cigarettes but I still feel like a smoker not smoking.

Okay.........so, for the most part, the bone-crunching cravings are gone....I have had some really good days..........but, honestly, after 70 days I still feel like a "Smoker" who isn't smoking. It's not that I am craving a smoke, it's just that my new life doesn't feel "natural" to me yet. I still have smoking thoughts every day, I still avoid situations that are big triggers for me. I still make a conscious effort not to smoke. I quit smoking because I wanted to stop being a slave to my addiction. Sometimes, it still feels like I am. When I had laser surgery, it didn't take very long to forget that I ever wore contacts or glasses (yet I had worn glasses since the age of 9). Waking up with good eyesight feels "natural". I am just wanting the day to come when being a non-smoker feels natural. When choosing not to smoke is a "natural" choice versus a "conscious" choice. Any thoughts on this?? Windy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 9/11/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 71 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,434 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $355 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 23 [B]Seconds:[/B] 17

Hope - Run ... don't walk... It is a very dangerous thing to have me in your brain!! Good to see you though! Thanks everybody - Okay...patience Windy.........patience... [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 9/11/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 71 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,437 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $355 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 42 [B]Seconds:[/B] 37

When I started this quit, I set a target for myself: 35 weeks! :) Why? For a very simple fact: I have been smoking for 35 years, and so, it would take at least 35 weeks to return to a "normal" level! :) Cheers, nmc [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/25/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 88 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 889 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $440 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 16 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 19 [B]Seconds:[/B] 11

Windy If only we knew the answer tothis we know it will be a Tuesday but which Tuesday.????? I am over the hundred days now and I really thought I would be out of the woods by now but no......... Yesterday I had 4 x 2mg nicotine gum strips. Last night I dreamed I was smoking... Today no gum so far(Its 10.20am here and I have been up since 6) and I feel fine. So all I can say is that I am not giving in and its not as bad or as frequent as it was but Old Nick is still around me.Keep looking forward to Tuesday and one day it will come true!!! Phil xx [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/8/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 108 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,164 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �567 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 22 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 55 [B]Seconds:[/B] 24