I decided early on I would not write a HOF speech after day 100 but wait until I reached one full year quit. Well, I made it, so hear it is:

My story is like so many others. I started when I was a sophomore in High School. I got busted for underage drinking and vowed I would not drink for a year, which I did. However, one night at a party a friend asked if I wanted a buzz without drinking. I said sure as long as it is legal. That’s when it started. From then on, when my friends were drinking I was dipping. After a while I didn’t get a buzz anymore, but by then it was too late, I was hooked. Looking back I wish I had gotten sick the first time I tried it, but I didn’t. I did quit once before, my freshman year at college, but then my sophomore year roommate chewed and it didn’t take long for me to start again.

As with most dippers, I promised to quit a thousand times, after my wedding, after each child was born, each New Year…….. but each quit would never last more than a few days, because I would reward myself with “just one”. But because of this site, I realized that I am an addict and there can never be “just one”. Now that I have been free from the Nic B*tch, I can look back and realize how much control it/she had on my life: How many fights with my wife that were caused by withdrawal, how many parties and fun times I missed because I would leave early to have a chew, how my chewing made my breath reek so bad my kid would not want me to read them a story at bedtime. I realize I cannot go back and change the past; I can however affect my future. So why did I finally quit?

My quit really started because of my son. I was a true ninja dipper and never chewed in front of my boys. Even though I knew I needed to quit, I could never really convince myself to do it. I had tried the gum and failed; I tried cold turkey and failed. It was not until my son one day, out of the blue said to me “Dad, I am going to miss you.” I thought he meant when I went to work, so I said I will be back later, but then he said “No, Dad, I’m going to miss you when you’re in heaven.” That’s when it hit me like a ton of bricks. How could I be so selfish to choose dipping over watching my kids grow up? I knew dipping would kill me sooner or later and after rolling the dice for more than half my life, I knew the odds would catch up to me. And even though I loved to chew, it was the one thing I did for me, the one thing that would relax me, the one thing that was “mine” and I was only hurting myself, no one else (or so I thought). I quit not because my wife wanted me to, not even because I knew I had too, but I quit because I loved the idea of watching my kids grow up more than I loved to chew, and I realized I was hurting others. How would my wife and kids feel when they are watching me die? So that day, I QUIT. But after five days, I went on-line to try to find something that would help me, because I didn’t think I could make it. That is when I found this site. Knowing that others were going through the same thing I was, being able to vent, reading other quitter’s struggles and successes gave me that extra strength I needed to make it. And for that I am eternally thankful.

I know that I took more from this site than I gave since I usually posted only # of days quit, and I have watched my November 08 – No Chew Crew dwindle in size to just a few, but I want to thank each and every one of them for sharing their struggles with me. Knowing I was not alone made my fight more manageable. Plus hearing from those veterans that had beat the B*tch, let me know it could be done; I thank you all as well. My wife and kids thank you all as well, because without you all and this site, I am sure I would still be wasting my life away, one dip at a time.

For those of you who are reading this thinking, “it can’t be done”, a year ago I was one of you. But if a can a day dipper for more than 26 years can do it, so can you. Post day 1 and take it a day at a time, and know you are not alone in your struggle. Stay Strong, Stay Quit and NDT (No Dip Today)