Thursday, August 25, 2011

Fragrant Reminders



Isn't it amazing how a certain smell or scent can evoke memories for us? Of course, the happy memories are the ones we like (and the pleasant scents too!). Yesterday I was grocery-shopping and spied a loaf of cinnamon bread. I didn't purchase it, but had to pick it up and sniff it through the plastic--it looked sooo yummy. Sure enough, it smelled as yummy as it looked, and suddenly in my mind I was transported back to when my three children were little, and thoughts of the cozy house we lived in then. For some reason, that particular cinnamon-bread smell made me think of our kitchen and those happy times when my children were very young (I was blessed to be a "stay-at-home" Mom for a while). Maybe it's because I baked a good bit when the children and I were at home (which we were most of the time), but whatever the reason that's where my thoughts traveled as I stood in the middle of the bakery section of the store. When I realized I had tears in my eyes (*sigh* I'm such an emotional Mom) I hastily set the cinnamon bread back on the shelf and forced myself to focus on finishing my shopping. Thankfully no one I knew was in the store then, because they might've wondered why I had tears while shopping in the bakery! ~ Later yesterday I thought back to that very small incident in the store, and it made me realize just how powerful our senses can be. Is there a particular fragrance that makes you think of a sweet memory?