Well let you kids look. Misty what do you see? Are you comfortable with your image? As you know when it came to smoking only you could do the quit, not your kids or anyone else. When my kids were in grade school and they educated them on the evil of smoking, oh my the heck they put me through. I would promise and I never kept it. I quit when I got sick and tired of smoking. You will do what you need to do when you are ready to do the changing. Love your kids for loving you. Keep the Quit Sparky [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]4/30/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 246 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,460 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $369.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 34 [B]Hrs:[/B] 21 [B]Mins:[/B] 45 [B]Seconds:[/B] 18

Misty, you've got the courage and drive to have maintained such a great quit so I'm sure that resolve of yours will kick into gear and iron out your issues now. I haven't got any kids of my own but used to teach 3 year olds which taught me that the biggest blessing and equally biggest curse within all children is that bare faced HONESTY. As we get older we hold things in. If your kids are 'dropping hints' with movies, they seem to be somewhere in between so I totally agree with Josie, get talkin before they totally clam up. If school and their social scene are teaching them things that anger & annoy you, there's nothing to combat it if the old boob tube is the only thing replying from the home front! Wish you the best of all things. Hang in there, we're all behind you. x T

Very thought provoking! Take the time to talk to your kids and give the T.V a rest. Communication and understanding does go a long way. As parents, we do set an example for our children. By quitting, we show them that the right path and choices can give many rewards. We all have our own ideas on raising our children, know that knowledge and positivity can get you far. A member once indicated that she and her children would watch one episode of "7th Heaven" every evening. She like the values it instilled, even if it wasn't always peaches and cream. Talk to your kids and show them the effects of bad choices. Good choices are a better way to go :) Josie, Support Specialist

WOW.. My older kids ( 13 & 18) do not think I am cool & they certainly never look at me with approval....My 8 yrs old is the only one that still likes me!!! PLEASE don't let these kids get you down, they are fed so much body imaging on TV, movies & mag...(which has all been altered)!!!! they are so confused about perfection....and how people really look!! You just focus on "YOU"!!!! Congrats on your meter.. I can not wait to get past this first year [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]8/25/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 129 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,580 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $387.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 14 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 34 [B]Seconds:[/B] 53

I am really impressed that you have opened yourself so much to us on several threads. And I am really impressed that you are really looking not only at yourself but into yourself. You aren't trying to cover anything up with humor or cute pictures, but being very serious about change in your life. Quitting smoking for me was the same -- really looking, really trying to see and understand. I'm proud of you. You aren't afraid of change. I look forward to hearing more from you. Rusty :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]12/13/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1114 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 31,192 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $3,899.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 159 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 29 [B]Seconds:[/B] 10

It makes me sad. It makes me defensive. :( When I plop down in the EZ chair with some rich and overly sized.. sumthin sumthin - My kids look at me with sadness like they did when I used to sit down in the EZ chair and light a cigarette. There was this movie on one of those "women's channels" that I can't stand, and my daughter turned it on and told me she'd seen it before and it was good movie, and so I watched with her. Turned out the movie was about a teen's struggle with healthy weight and body image, and her overweight mother. She told her mother eventually that she thought that she was choosing food over her because she was putting her health in danger. The mother came back with a very good reply and it all ended well, but it angered me so. I think it angered me because I was being defensive, but I thought... "How dare this stupid channel put these ideas in my kids' heads!!?" When my kids used to come home from school and tell me that they had told them at school that I was a drug user because I smoked, I used to get so angry! How dare they tell my children that!? I used to tell them that they were drug users too because they take Tylenol when they don't feel well. That was my addiction talking then... Though I still think that's a crappy thing to tell a kid. I think it's my guilt for what I've done to my weight talking now, and making that movie so angering... Though I do still think that those dumb movies on those dumb channels try to make everyone a victim of everyone else! sheesh. Anyhow. Long story, I'm sorry. I still have been having horribly bad feelings when I see my kids looking at me the way they do. I also wonder if my girl didn't put that movie on for me to tell me she was worried about me. You can't really be a closet eater. LOL! It announces itself to everyone in your dress size, eh? It's time for me to turn this ship around. Wish me luck, and g'luck to anyone else that's taking this ride with me. "If you Bite it - Write it!" & NOPE! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 533 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 39,975 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $9,993.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 47 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 21 [B]Seconds:[/B] 29