Watching my mother quit convinced me Tobacco is Serious Badness and it is probably the one bad habit not even part of me is drawn to. Which is saying something, I think.ETA: wrod, Aimee. Nagged by strangers is of the suck. And, sometimes I have to tell people that care to step off, too. Yes, even if they're right.

Emily too, yes?

Yeah, but not at the same time or for the same reasons.

I thought there was only one person allowed to talk to me about it at all, but I guess now there are two.

ION, while we were in the doctor's office, the doctor asked if any of us were vomiting or nauseated or had diarrhea. I said no, a little puzzled because it was right there on the chart why we were there, and then she said some vicious bug is going around, almost at epidemic proportions, and she had two patients right then waiting for a bed at the hospital but there were no beds to be had because of it.

If Emeline could talk, she would say it. Because she's a greedy, selfish little thing. We want the people we love, the ones who are our suns and true norths and the steady arms of our crazy looping compasses, to live forever, and we want them to love us more than they love their smokes and their booze and their chicken-fried steaks.

I've already given Hec permission to get medieval on my ass if my doctor ever gives me any kind of ultimatum and I blow it off. I mean, I love my curly fries and my runny Brie as much as the next shit-eating American, but I love the way I fit into Hec's arms and the peace there -- just there, with my chin resting snugly in the little hollow above his clavicle and my lips on his neck and breathing in the faint sweet scent of his hair -- much, much more. If my doctor told me I could buy myself six extra weeks of enjoying that sweet homely peace in relatively decent health by eating twigs and acorns, I'd do it.

And also, while my friends and family and general loved ones are allowed to say, "I love you. I don't want you to get cancer, etc please quit." it drives me bugfuck for strangers to do it.

Granted. Full acknowledged. But you know what? Let's not slide over to the Righteous Anger Of The Repressed Smoker just yet. Let's stick with the loved ones for a minute, because I don't think that gets as much play around here. I want a minute for the people who are distressed as they watch people they love treat their health carelessly. If your health were a child, I'd have CPP on speed-dial. I'm not talking casual negligence.

And woot, vw! That's great -- and amazing. I know how incredibly, insanely stressful the past couple of years have been for you, and if any smoker on earth deserved a no-scolding pass on account of too much other shit to worry about right now, it'd have been you.

And I love Deena's spicy brains, and I want them around and working at top capacity for as long as I can get them.

But, ucch. Judgy strangers are creeps, and I kick them in the shins. kick kick. Like such.

Let's not slide over to the Righteous Anger Of The Repressed Smoker just yet.

No, no. Not wanting to slide. Just sayin' is all.

I give full range for the people who love me and want me to stick around for quite awhile to weigh in. It keeps me not smoking. Mostly.

ION, while we were in the doctor's office, the doctor asked if any of us were vomiting or nauseated or had diarrhea.

Yeah, I'm wondering if what I had was really food poisoning. I've heard of many cases recently (Cindy included, I think) of major stomach wrenching.

(ION, I'm going through my message book looking for a fax number of a tenant and I keep finding little notes from various calls to my dr during pregnancy. "5:00 Dr Feit Ultrasound", "Benadryl, cortisone, pills or cream". Feels like a million years ago.)

No wonder I'm still single. I've not met the one I'd eat twigs and acorns to live for, yet.(Of course to get them to...well, to get them to, I'd promise to and manage for a week or so, but once we'd...the temptation would be there to eat garbage again.) I did offer to go on a funky diet if Mom wanted to after the tumor, even admitting I'd probably be weak, but she said "Hell no," so that was that.