It's a Family Affair

[Nyxie]

I was driving in the car yesterday thinking about some of the recent posts I've read here about kids who are turning their parents on to vaping. These posts have touched me deeply. I discovered, without realizing it at first, that I had tears rolling down my cheeks.

Almost 20 years ago I lost my Mother to lung cancer. Not a day goes by that I don't miss her. As crazy as this sounds, I think one of the things that has kept me smoking all these years was that she and I had been smoking buddies together, when I smoked after she was gone it made me feel closer to her somehow. I know though, that it tormented her in the end that in some way she had contributed to my addiction.

Dory (my Mom), would have loved this vaping thing so much, all of it, the flavors, the forum, Dad would have had to pry the laptop from her hands to make her sleep, "Just one more post Bill, I promise, then I'll come to bed!"

I am so grateful that I have lived long enough to see a viable alternative. Parents and their kids that are vaping together, please keep sharing those wonderful stories. I don't mind a little crying in the car...as my Mom always liked to say, "Tears wash the soul clean."

Happy Independence Day Everyone!

That is exactly how I feel about my Dad, only his was a heart condition. He could not stop smoking and I am sure it ended up killing him. I know that he could have stopped with this. The pv's, the forum and the modding would have really hooked him.

I have tried with not much luck to get my Mom to stop smoking, she has now started using her inhaler more, I know that copd is setting in. The Dr keeps hounding her to quit. I gave her all of my v4l batteries, except for 2. She likes them and likes vaping . But, she is afraid of it, I mean the health aspect. I have tried several times to tell her, of course no one knows how safe these are, but they must be safer than sucking smoke into your lungs. I see her use her batteries here and there. She complains about this or that, so I refill her cartos for her , clean her contacts and give her all my pretty colored v4l batteries, hoping one day it will be better then smoking for her.

 

[Stephra]

We sent a kit to my MIL for Mother's Day. She's been doing really well with it. From what I hear, she's still smoking about half a pack a day, but considering she was a 2 PAD smoker, I won't complain.

The thing to remember is that every cigarette NOT smoked is a victory. She's reduced her cigarette consumption by 75%, and that's nothing to sneeze at. We'd like to see her go all the way, but only she can do that. All I have for her is praise for coming as far as she has.

 

[Automaton]

Dear Mistress, I understand that you want to give the same respect to your father that he gave to you in regards to smoking. However, if I were your parent and my child were having those feelings about me, I'd want to hear about them. There are ways that you can express your fears of loosing him without it sounding judgemental or controlling.

59 is not all that old. I know it may seem that way to you right now, but from my 54 yr old perspective, it's not.

If you let the love you have for him lead your way in the conversation I'll bet it would go better than you imagine. Please let us know if you do and how it goes. We're here for you.

I guess what frightens me is that the average lifespan of a life-time smoker is mid-60's or so. My dad's not so far away from that.

And he actually is really healthy. The only thing that gives him away is that nasty, nasty cough. He actually looks at least a decade younger than he is.

I have a theory that once you start moving into your 30's or so, one aspect that affects how you age is your personality. People my age are resilient - you can't really see the difference between a loving, happy 21-year-old and a hateful, bitter 21-year-old.

But in someone my father's age, it's like night and day. Has anyone ever noticed that before?

My dad's a pretty awesome guy, and I guess it's showing in how he ages. I know 59 isn't "old," and my dad doesn't really seem "old." But he is old enough that his body won't be able to take the kind of damage it could 30 years ago, you know?

He was so happy when he lost his extra few pounds and got his cholesterol down to a good level. If he cares about his cholesterol, why doesn't he care about his lungs?

I guess the answer is that he doesn't feel like he can quit for good at his age. About a year ago, he decided to quit for a month to "prove he could do it." So he did. And went right back to smoking. Why?

Maybe I'll talk to him. I just... feel like such a hypocrite.