Be A Quitter.

This is not the post that I had planned today. However sometimes life comes in and smacks your plans right upside the head.  I always try to be respectful of others and do not want to step on other people’s toes but today that’s going out the window right alongside those plans.  Truthfully I have calmed my fiery self down and rather than demand I’m just going to take the time to ask. If you smoke will you please consider stopping? I know people have asked you before, maybe even offered to pay you to stop.  Your doctor has probably advised you to stop and it’s probably getting old to hear people say it.  But here’s my take on it – I’m tired of burying people I love.  We’re about to bury our second family member in 2014 that died from a smoking related form of cancer.   Two months into the year and we’re two family members down, each passing away a month apart.  They were old school smokers who started smoking before the hazards were known. They started when it was uncool not to smoke. By the time the dangers were known smoking was just part of their life and so there’s no blame to them. But for the younger generations, our generation, that knows how bad it is; that knows smoking can cause lung cancer, esophageal cancer, cancer of the mouth and tongue, narrowing of the blood vessels and emphysema…… why are you strapping a ticking time bomb onto your body everyday?  I know that life is a risk. Everyday could be the last day. Other things can lead to early death too like eating too many cupcakes, racing motorcycles  or even skydiving.  But there’s a difference in enjoying life and embracing something that has been proven to have no benefit at all and is in fact one of the leading causes of cancer.  Why? I just don’t understand. Honestly today my broken heart doesn’t want to understand.  Daughters are left motherless and fatherless. Grandchildren are left without that loved one to call them on their birthday, something they always looked forward to. Great grandchildren are just going to be left with stories because they probably won’t remember them that well.  I’m sorry if this has offended. I don’t want to offend any of you that pour your time into reading this blog everyday.  But if you are young (or even old) and a smoker, please consider the future and the loved ones that are going to be in it.  Quitting will be a very hard road but it might be worth it if it makes your life’s road a little longer.  Just consider it.  People always say “be a winner”.   I want to ask you to please be a quitter.  If you do want to try to quit, please shoot me an email (Bobbie@ClumsyCrafter.com) and let me know.  I could really use something happy to celebrate right now and I’d love to encourage you. The usual crafts will be back soon, the rant is over.