Friday, November 12, 2010

Olfactory

I have always had a keen sense of smell. It can be a bit annoying at times, especially if someone decides to put on a little too much perfume or cologne.

Yuk.

But mostly I like my ability to pick out smells because they instantly connect me with memories.

My favorite smell?
My good friend Lyndall and myself (Gidget) being pink princesses for X-treme week!
I almost killed a frog this night trying to kiss it and spell out "x-treme" with my body...it lopped (limped/hopped) away...

Camp

I can pick out this smell in an instant. It is usually around a Ponderosa Pine.

It immediately puts me into a bolder, more crazed sense of mind. I love it. Camp means to the world to me (as anyone who is close to me knows). It is the place where I really grew up, where I learned the most valuable lessons about friendship, love, and making good choices. Heck, it's where I met my husband. Can't get better than that.

I love the smell of camp.

There are other smells that come and go.

The smell of my mother

my grandmother

my husband

my husband's home

my high school

my elementary school

It's odd really. Why are smells so distinct in our minds?

Why can they evoke so many specific memories?

I think the sense of smell is seriously underrated. Everyone boasts of sight and sound. Yes, they are important. But I would say smell is up there, mostly associated with food or flowers.

I once knew a person with no sense of smell. I was so curious about this fact. She was an excellent cook but made it to her husband's taste. She wore perfume her husband picked out. It was very strange to me.

Sometimes I think about not being able to smell. I cannot possibly fathom it.

Is smelling like this for anyone else or am I just being a freak who is fascinated by her nose's ability....

2 comments:

  1. My husband and I joke about my extra powerful sense of smell, so I understand what you're talking about. I don't experience the memories connected to scents very often, but it does happen from time to time.

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  2. I am getting a little weirded out about how much we have in common...I read your posts and then feel like you are talking about me!!

    {i.e. your passion for children, your passion for being a mother someday...and now the smell thing!}

    I have always wondered if I have an extra sensitive sense of smell because I will notice a smell waaaay before others...and when it's a good smell its wonderful...when it's bad...it just sucks!! {for example a stinky person at the gym that no one seems to notice BUT ME!!}

    all things considered....we need to hang out again soon, and more often! :]

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