Taken Back in Time...and I got there just by breathing!

Today I was reminded of the amazing things our sense of smell can do. Ryan and I were shoe shopping for him...not for me (although I did browse through the women's section), and while walking the men's aisle of the sketchers outlet and seeing shoe after shoe I passed by a person and was suddenly back in high school with an old friend. It took only the second that it took the scent of this person to hit my brain and I raced backwards from 24 to 14 in no time. My mind was flooded with memories. It took me by surprise! I have not seen or talked to this person in years and all of the sudden I felt like we were close again. It was the weirdest thing. It made me think of how powerful this sense is. I remember being in Houston....maybe a year after being married and I was walking Chloe. A truck similar to my dad's was approaching us...it made me smile to think of him. Then, I heard the purring/rumbling of the loud diesel engine, which made me think even more about my dad. As the all too familiar truck approached I began to smell the distinct odor that a diesel truck has, and when it passed by me...the memories were so real I just started to cry! I mean I get homesick and cry easily but had I just used my sense of sight and sound, I think I would have been okay...but the smell of the diesel knocked me back into my Daddy's arms and I lost it. The smell of freshly cut grass here in L.A. takes me back to Mississippi in heart beat. The smell of a skunk puts me back on Huckleberry Road. A certain deodorant takes me back to the girls locker room. A particular brand of lotion carries me back to the Bahamas. Some flowers' aromas take me back to a funeral parlor. I am not super sure if I love the way smell connects us to memories or not. I like that it triggers memories, but at the same time...it's almost like I have no control...I have nothing to prepare me for the memory I am about to live through again. It takes me by complete surprise and sends me back in time. However, most of the time I come back to my present state feeling appreciation for the quick trip back in time.