Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Smoking Addiction/Nicotine - My Story Pt. 2

- Read Part 1 -

So, how did the parents find out about my smoking? Well, first of all I wasn't too smart by hiding them in my dresser drawer. What is it with hiding things in the dresser drawer? Everyone looks there. I kept them wrapped in a white paper napkin tucked under some jammies - my clothes didn't smell too well.

My mother had a habit of ripping our bedrooms apart when we were off at school. She would literally dump everything we owned out of the drawers onto the beds (we had two twin beds squeezed into our tiny room). She would empty the closet onto the beds and then she would dig everything out from under the beds. We would then come home to a nightmare! She would do this when she finally got tired of asking us to clean our rooms. As with most kids, our idea of cleaning our rooms consisted of shoving it under the bed, into the drawers and on the closet floor. Shut the door - all clean! When she finally had had enough, well... now you know.

It was just awful to come home to that. I hated it when my mom would do that to me and I have to say, it didn't teach me anything at all. I'm still a slob. I'm trying though but not because of my experiences but because I'm trying to be a good example to my children and trying to be a good steward over what God has given me. Tossing what I own to and fro without a care is a shameful trait of mine.

On to the subject of smoking – On one of those awful days that my mom had had enough of our nasty bedroom she happened upon my stash of cigarette butts. There they were, on display on top of my dresser still lying in the little white napkin they had been wrapped in and... there mom was standing there in front of the dresser with her hands on her hips asking me "well... what's this?" I remember feeling all shaky and overwhelmed with the desire to vomit. What could I do? Lie? And so I did just that. It was a scene right out of the movie "A Christmas Story" when Ralphie's mom asked him where he learned that nasty word he spoke when he was helping his dad change the tire. "It was Schwartz!" Only this was long before this movie came out.

I told her I was holding them for my friend up the street. Can you believe that?! And apparently my mom believed me! The only problem was... I didn't realize my mom was going to call my friend's mom and tell HER! AAHHH!!!

To be continued...