BagendHere I am at home again, having survived the trip to my son’s wedding. When I last reported in, I was having a few problems with smoking memories. I got through those and I am still ciggy free. It was not real easy since there was a lot of stress involved in this trip.

I hate California. I had forgotten just how much I dislike being there. It is full of people, they are all on the roads at the same time, and they are in a hurry. Sometimes, when driving down the highway at 70 MPH, in all five lanes, they just stop for no apparent reason. So you have to watch well ahead of the guy in front of you. They also like to make multiple lane changes in the shortest amount of distance. I have seen all that before, but am no longer used to it. Here in my town, it is a traffic jam if I miss the light on Highway 13 going home from work. So I found driving in California to be stressful.

Also, there are roads all over the place there, so much square area of sprawl that going somewhere is a major exercise in navigation. I was able to follow people for the most part, but keeping up with them in all that traffic was insane. I need a talking GS system. Getting around was also stressful.

Not to mention the fact that there was a lot of unforeseen requirements that had to be done at the last minute. Like, having something to cut the cake with, who was going to set up the reception hall that morning, who would clean up all the solid waste material deposited at the park by the geese? It was so bad at the park, that my granddaughter (who is three and a half) (who was one of the flower girls) was heard to say “don’t step in the poop” as she walked through the grass to get to her spot to stand. Also, the person who was supposed to make the pillow for the rings did not come through (we find this out the day before), my grandson (who was to be a ring bearer “ in his terms “the ring bear”) got sick two days before, the rehearsal was supposed to be right in the middle of a football game, and the tuxedo place was incompetent to boot. Those are just the highlights. Max stress for two days.

The kicker to this whole deal was the bobbleheads. My son and his (now) wife sent in their pictures to a company that will make bobbleheads that look like the pictures. Of course the bobbleheads were on a bride and groom body, and this was to be the decoration for the wedding cake. Two hundred and fifty dollars these things cost, but boy they sure did look like the bride and groom. But when we were setting up the reception hall, they were dropped, and the base broke! Thank you whoever invented super glue! We repaired them and all was well, but for a few minutes there was a lot of stress.

All things considered the stress factor was pretty high for the whole three days we were there. But I did not smoke. I hardly even remembered anything at all about smoking. Smoking was so much not an option because it didn’t even cross my mind most of the time. In fact I was so busy that I forgot there was football on that Sunday until after the ceremony was done. That surprised me that I would forget that!

Three lessons I learned this trip (valuable pieces of informatio to have):

#1: I am still susceptible to having strong cravings, especially in situations where smoking memories are very strong. Vigilance is still important.
#2: Just because I remember smoking, and it causes me cravings, does not mean I have to smoke. I can create my own memories of those places and situations where I don’t smoke.
#3: Stress is manageable without smoking. When things get crazy, just focus on appropriate thoughts to get the stuff done that needs doing. Cigarettes are not necessary to stay calm in a sea of confusion.

Having gotten through this trip without smoking is a major accomplishment for me. I know my enemy and it is me. I got stubborn when the cravings started, and just held on until they left. Waiting them out is a good tactic.

I will adapt a phrase by that famous German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, by saying this: that, which does not kill our quits, makes us stronger. And I am here to tell you, that trip made me stronger.

Zzyzx