Wow, CT.
I remember when I was little... 9 to be exact (1972). We went camping in Yosemite. My parents had a trailer, and my little sister and I had to sleep in the up above portion.
My parents were smoking (as they always did), and the smoke was so thick at the top/roof/sleeping area of the trailer, that my sister and I started crying because we couldn't breathe. There were two tiny little trailer windows up there-- about 6 inches across, and 3 inches high. We had our faces pressed against that little window. The little windows didn't open much-- about an inch. And they had a screen.
We were crying so much, that our parents finally got really mad and told us to come down (for punishment). We were scared and wouldn't come down so they captured our legs and tried to pull us down. And then they did something horrible. They burnt our legs with their cigarettes. I still have the scars.
We managed to climb out of harms reach, and I remember every detail still-- to this day. I kicked out those tiny windows with my feet and pushed my sister's face up to the window so she could breathe.
That was it for our parents and they managed to grab us. We were kicked out of the trailer that night into the snow with bare feet and nightgowns. My sister (7) and me (9). A nice couple with a trailer next door let us sleep there, and returned us in the morning. No one ever spoke about it then or since.
I hope you all don't mind me writing about this. This is for sure something I've already done my work with so I'm not writing with a need for sympathy/empathy or anything like that. I'm writing it because those images of the children just brought back that memory. I swore I would never smoke..... It blows my mind really that given my experience of grown-ups smoking that I ever picked one up.
What a (secret) gift I have for my children. They will never know this.
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My Milage:My Quit Date: 3/8/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 23
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 552
Amount Saved: $165.60
Life Gained:Days: 2
Hrs: 8
Mins: 50
Seconds: 21
