Starting and stopping cigarettes

Yes, it was a boy that stared my smoking.  Damned boys.  I went to an all girls Catholic high school:  St. Mary of the Angels Academy.  Really.  During our senior year, we went on a religious retreat to some lovely mountain monastery.  I wish I had kept notes; I don't remember the name of the place, but it was beautiful, peaceful, and had, as a bonus, a group of boys on retreat from an all boys high school.  That's were I met him: Doug.  Gorgeous, sexy, Doug with long blonde hair and an air of danger.  How attractive is that to a sheltered, shy, young-for-her-age girl?  Ah, Doug.  It was love.  He and I established a long-distance relationship.  Well, it was long distance if you're a teenager without a car.  He sneaked out of his house and got a bus to visit me during the Christmas holidays.  His parents called.  They had no idea where he had gone.  This boy...sigh.  Yes, Doug smoked cigarettes, and soon, so did I.  Doug found his soul mate in college and dropped me.  So, he was gone, but my cigarette habit lasted for twelve years.  

 Fast forward. I was happily married and had a gorgeous baby daughter.  I did my best during pregnancy:  I quit smoking and drinking, and planned for natural childbirth.  I was very fortunate when I went into labor.  It only lasted three and a half hours, and my baby girl was born healthy and happy.  I breast fed, and tried to be a good mom; don't let anyone tell you that's easy!!!  I had my healthy baby girl, so I started up the cigarettes again.  Cigarettes can help with weight loss, you know.  I took my daughter to the pediatrician for her regular check-ups.  She began having ear infections which were obviously quite painful, poor thing.  So, off to the pediatrician we went.  He said to me, "Does anyone in your family smoke?"  "I do," I admitted.  "Well," he said, "if you want your baby to continue to suffer like this, keep smoking."  Wow, harsh, and true.   That was the end of that.  After I quit, my daughter never had another ear infection.  My son, born three and a half years later, had not a single ear infection.

 Love: it started and stopped my cigarettes.  

Comments

  1. BillJuly 28, 2019 at 10:24 AM

    Ok, ok, this is great and all but you can stop now. I read this post aloud to my wife and we both enjoyed it because it is superior writing. Better than mine!!!!! Time to stop this. You hear?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VictoriaJuly 28, 2019 at 11:21 AM

      Have I told you that I love you, Bill Kirby? You got this blog thing started; it’s all your fault.

      Thank you for your kind and thoughtful encouragement. I am your biggest fan.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blonde and Skinny and Fake

I admit that I spend more time than I should thinking about how I look.  I don't know about you, but I was indoctrinated at a very early age.  Like many newborns, I had blonde hair at birth.  That blonde hair usually doesn't last.  It didn't last on me.  I don't know exactly when it happened, but I remember that my mother poured peroxide over my hair when it started getting dark.  Now, my mother was an educated woman; she received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Illinois in 1943.  But, even an educated woman apparently wanted her first child to remain a blonde.  For years, she went to the drug store to get some Miss Clairol Blonde formula with which to keep me bright and beautiful (in her eyes, anyway).  I don't know how she found the time, but it must have been quite the priority for her.  This was a woman with a medical practice in our home who was very often called away to deliver babies.  Looking back, I am ...
Read more

A Raccoon Pooped in My Birdseed

We have a covered patio at the back of our house.  It's great for morning coffee, afternoon wine, bird-watching, and just enjoying the peace and quiet.  Our patio has some plants, a small table and chairs, and a supply of birdseed in a large covered plastic container.  The patio is adjacent to our bedroom.    I'm normally a pretty heavy sleeper, but one night I was awakened by a noise outside our bedroom window.  It was coming from the patio.  Of course, I woke up my husband, "Bill, there's SOMETHING OUT THERE!!!"  I ran to the kitchen to turn on the patio light.  By the time I got the light on, the raccoon was retreating.  He/she/it got away quickly.  When we checked the patio the next day, there was no sign of damage.  No problem. The next night, I heard it again; same deal, raccoon got scared and scurried into the night.  The following morning, I saw the damage.  The raccoon had gotten the lid off the birdseed....
Read more

Body image

When I was young, less than 15 years old young, I had a monster metabolism.  I could eat like mad and never gain any weight.  At one point my mother considered having me tested to see if I was harboring a tape worm.  It was that crazy.  One day, everything changed and I started packing on the pounds with no effort at all.  These new pounds were particularly attracted to my thighs, a trend that has continued. Even when I was a tiny, skinny little thing, I was always worried about how I looked.  When all the other girls started growing in all the appropriate places, I remained horrifyingly flat chested. At that age when I thought everyone was checking me daily to see if I had sprouted the necessary equipment, every day was another disappointment.  Adolescence; has anyone lived through it unscathed?  What was wrong with me and my stupid body? I survived the savagery of adolescence, but I never lost the feeling that the world would be a ...
Read more