It was one of the saddest events of my life when my mother passed away 20 years ago on Christmas Eve 1994.
She was a good friend who stuck with me through many years of my addiction. She lived long enough to see me celebrate four years of recovery.
I learned much from her about hard work and the values that serve me well today.
Her death came early. Because - though she was healthy in most ways - she smoked until she was 66. Her doctor told me lung damage cut her life short by years.
This came up for me because one of our managers is in the hospital with smoking related lung damage. And many of us are sad because we've all become friends with her over the years.
We are praying for her recovery and return to work. But things aren't positive at this writing.
I don't beat the drums for many causes outside of recovery. But encouraging and helping our clients to quit smoking is one of my passions.
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