Goodbye Yellow

I remember the first time I smoked a cigarette. I had to wait until my Mama went to sleep, not because I was too young to smoke but because even at 18, smoking was basically illegal in my Mother's house. I remember that first pull, the butterfly feeling in my stomach, the instant lightheadedness, the relaxation. Like a deep sigh in my brain. I was hooked. And I chased that dragon for 10 years. It became my most important and most favorite habit.... that first cigarette in the morning...smoking after dinner was waaaay better than dessert...any amount of stress, work related or personal, was always a little bit easier to deal with after a cigarette...and music+alcohol+smoking=socializing - always together, never separate. But as I got older, all of the bad things about smoking started to outweigh the good . For example, dying. Cancer. Developing a smoker's cough. Premature wrinkles. And yellow teeth. I finally quit my favorite habit with the help of Wellbutrin. It was my third attempt and it was very hard. But I kicked it. My skin looks a million times better and the tiny lines around my mouth did not disappear but thankfully, they aren't getting deeper. The only remaining visible sign of my smoking days is the color of my teeth. So I decided to kick that too. I'm rewarding myself with Zoom. Tomorrow morning, I'm having my teeth whitened.

Goodbye yellow yuk mouth. Hello, white dazzling smile!