a new kind of smoking dream

Ever since I quit smoking over six years ago, I'll occasionally have a smoking dream.  There are two types.

1.  I'm just sitting out somewhere smoking a cigarette and loving it.
2.  I really want to smoke.  I know it's bad, but oh it's so tempting, I want it so much.  So I have a cigarette, and I enjoy it, but the guilt is just unbearable, crushing, so I throw the rest of the pack away.  Many times these dreams include the actual purchase of the cigarettes.

But last night, there was an interesting spin on the type 2.  I was in the store, really wanting a cigarette, just being overwhelmed with the temptation.  Feeling guilty, but unable to resist, I ask the clerk to add a pack of cigarettes (Marlboro Blend No. 27, soft pack) to the items I brought to the counter.  But then as she was ringing it up, I changed my mind, the guilt was too much, I told her to take it back off, and I left the store without the cigarettes.

And that was my dream.  That was the first time I've had one of my smoking dreams where I didn't even take a single puff.  Does that mean I'm making progress?  I don't know.  When I lit my last cigarette, I had no plans to quit, but by the end of that cigarette, I knew I was done with it for good... Let's just say it was an interesting five minutes...  It's been over six years since I quit cold turkey and I can honestly say I have not once put a cigarette or cigar to my lips since then, but damn, I still think about it.  Probably at least once a day I think about how good a smoke would be right now.  I guess it's just something you learn to live with.

Off-topic - I'll be away on vacation for a bit.  Leaving tomorrow, won't be back for a week.  Hopefully, I will return only with stories of how comfortable the hammock was and not nightmarish tales of being locked in a remote cabin with my in-laws.