The Nose Knows.

You know?

Upon opening a box of Cheerios this evening to pour myself a bowl of lazy-ass dinner, I caught a whiff of my past. The smell of that freshly opened box of breakfast (and dinner, mind you) cereal took me back to high school and winter Saturday mornings spent sitting at the kitchen table looking out the big picture window at the geese on the frozen lake and wondering if they were in fact frozen to the ice.

The sense of smell, I think, is pretty powerfully linked to memories. Maybe more for me than the average person. I don't know. But there are all kinds of scents that just bring it all back... Potpourri Scented Windex reminds me of the summer my family moved to Nebraska...we must have cleaned a lot of windows in our new house. The purple scented Febreze (I don't know which "scent" it actually is) reminds me of my apartment in Georgia...I sprayed it all the time trying to cover up that smoky fireplace smell. "Exclamation!" perfume (unfortunately) reminds me of senior prom. Wood smoke reminds me of camping as a kid. Pine needles remind me of living in Flagstaff. That waxy crayon smell reminds me of the old dish cupboard at my grandma's house. Chances are, if we are pretty good friends, then there is a scent that makes me think of you.
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On an entirely unrelated note, my friends Keffy (Kathy)("Clean Cotton" Yankee Candles and that combination of new car smell and dogs that graces her Mitsubishi) and Sean got engaged this past weekend! Yay!