One Month and One Day

I am sensitive. Not in the “please don’t make me cry” kind of way, but in the “please don’t touch me because your bright orange shirt is burning my eyes and you smell like bologna” kind of way.  One of the things that has happened since quitting smoking is that my already heightened senses have gone through the roof.

Today marks one month and one day of non-smoking (I have cheated, twice. If you don’t count it as a month, bite it).   As with any lifestyle change I am still making the necessary adjustments.

The temperature is never comfortable, usually I am way too hot. The kids have learned not to tell me its cold, just to go put on a sweatshirt, hat, gloves and scarf on their own.

I can’t take too much activity, if the children and the pets are jumping around like maniacs, obviously getting ready to break something, I have learned to just close my eyes and wait for the crash.

I have learned that Taco Bell is kind of gross. This is actually ok.

I really like silence, this month I’ve noticed how little I get. Whether it’s fighting kids, loud chewing, or just a dripping faucet, there is always some kind of noise.  It became a little less excessive after a mommy temper tantrum (turrets?) that resulted in a home made maraca being hurled out the car window into oncoming interstate traffic. Luckily, no one was hurt.

The smells have been the worst.  I had a strong sense of smell when I was smoking a pack and a half a day, now I’m like a freaking bloodhound.  The good part is that my children have never been cleaner. Same with the poor dog who got two baths within 5 days of my quit date.

I feel like I’m getting a handle on all of these things at home. Work is another story, the too loud, techno music and “earthy” essential oils that used to just grate my nerves now cause me to fear being institutionalized forever.  I’m on my way to work this morning. Planning on holding it all together, but happy that even if I don’t, at least my first few days in the acute ward won’t be spent going through nicotene withdrawals.