Yes, I can. I never thought I’d be able to but it’s been one effing long year now that I have stopped smoking.
I didn’t actually plan to quit , it was rather a series of mishaps, flukes and coinkydinks that forced me to kick the habit. I had been to Paris and caught a cold there. The cold turned into a proper bronchitis with fever. One day I was so knocked out that I stumbled and fell over and into the wrought-iron edge of the bed and cracked two ribs. Ouch!
Oh, it was painful, very much so. Breathing with bronchitis AND two broken ribs is HELL in capitals. My chest felt like a battlefield. I was so busy with breathing very carefully in order to cough as little as possible that I didn’t spare the faintest thought on having a cig. Every breath was torture. I think I was swearing a lot – at least in my mind, because talking was painful, too.
After a couple days I felt better. The desire to smoke did not get better though. Apparently it had been severely injured on the battlefield. Smoking simply wasn’t on my mind. So I said to myself, let’s see how long you can do without. Days became weeks became months and I was jokingly saying that I hadn’t quit smoking, I just had not re-started yet.
And until today I haven’t. I admit there are moments when a cigarette would be nice. I had always considered a glass of vino and a cigarette a nice combination, and there are times when I miss the sheer ritual of smoking. Sometimes I just go outside, like I used to when I was going for a smoke, and guess what, that’s good, too. Now I sometimes just stand outside, on my patio or a pub and I’m looking around, staring into nothing for about five minutes – just without a cigarette in hand. The effect is not the same but it feels good. Just that.
During the course of the last year I have gained 5 bloody kilos (and lost 3), but it was/is worth it – health- and moneywise.

So – yay me. x