Kids have it right: life really is about the little things. The big things get our attention and may have a better publicity agent, but the little things are content to confidently sit back in the shadow. The little things know that they are what make living life so fun and truly special.
It seems to me that the sense of smell is one of those little things. When people are confronted with the age-old hypothetical question of which one of the five senses would you be most willing to give up, the sense of smell is usually one of the top contenders. But the sense of smell is the one sense that does the best job of bringing back treasured memories. (Which, I might add, is one of the main reasons people hesitate to throw things out: they are afraid they will lose the memories that go with it.)
I was reminded of the importance of smell while reading a recent post by Lindsey Cox about a compliment she received from her daughter:
Cleo snuggled up to me in my bed and said, "Oh Mommy! You smell so good. You smell like summer."
The girl is going to grow up to be a poet. It was that classic.
This mama doesn’t need Chanel No. 5 or anything like that. Just give me my Eau de Coppertone SPF 15. Good stuff. I love the smell of summer in the air. It is a mix of sweat, sunscreen and chlorine on pool days. On beach days it is a mix of sun, sand, sweat, salt, and of course, sunscreen.
Now how many of you were just instantly transported back to the pool or the beach, remembering some of those wet, warm days gone by when you had not a care in the world? Sunscreen. Chlorine. Sweat. Just by thinking of those smells, you probably could feel sand between your toes, hear the rhythmic sounds of surf, or remember doing a cannonball off the high dive.
This summer, wherever you are, make sure to take the time to slow down, close your eyes, do yourself a favor, and just…smell. It’s one of the underrated senses, but oh how much spice it adds to life.
Near the back of our new magazine is a quote by Robert Brault that says, “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the BIG things.”
(What smell reminds you most of childhood? Add your answer to the ones already submitted here.)
Technorati Tags: Lindsey Cox, summer, memories, sense of smell, sunscreen, chlorine, swimming pool, beach
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Smell also makes food taste beter. I found this out several years ago when a friend asked me what a mango tasted like and to what other fruit I would compare it to. I told him that the flesh was similar to a peaches in color. That it was smooth but it did have some hairy fibbers sepecialy near the big seed in the middle. I really can’t compare the taste to anything it tastes just like it smells, I told him. at this point my friend looks both disapointed and embarased, and tell me that he was born without a sense of smell. Well that started a whole conversation on the pro and cons of not having a sense of smell.
But in my opinion although there are things that I wish that I would never smell (the cat’s litter box) life would not be the same If you could not smell thinks like apple pie just out of the oven, a baby right after a bath, new car smell, and of course we have to take time to smell the roses.
Yes, there are certainly things I’d rather not smell, but then again, there are also plenty of things I’d rather not SEE or HEAR, too.
I’m with ya though, pretty hard to beat the smell of a baby after a bath.