nose knows.

I don't know about the rest of you, but certain smells have the power to instantly transport me to another time and place. I've noticed it especially as of late.

For instance:

The smell of wood and laundry takes me to Stanley-Land. I am surrounded by family, pups and love. Someone's looking for something. Someone's calling for someone they can't find. Mama's offering to make me something to eat, and I'm grinning from ear to ear.

The smell of winter is a wonderful thing. I could never describe it; it's impossible (but it's amazing). Whenever I smell winter I am taken back to my freshman dorm room at PBU. Renae and I are sitting, listening to music and "doing homework". I smell winter (because we keep the window open all year round). I tell Renae. She doesn't understand. We are bonded forever.
The smell of Vurt and cigarrettes puts me back in the presence of a dear friend. We are riding in the car, talking, laughing and probably drinking Starbucks. We make it a regular thing, because it's more than good in theory.

The smell of Polo takes me back to Sunday mornings as a child. My father wore Polo cologne and made cinnamon buns for us before church. I can't get enough of the smell. I hug him and bury my nose in his neck. (This technique proves to be most effective and is used later in life to identify and remember especially important people.)

The smell of grass mixed with a certain humidity in the air transports me to track practices after classes in high school. There's a whole lot of messing around and not a lot of practicing. I think I know everything about the world and how things should turn out. I am blissfully mistaken.

The smell of Comet cleaner takes me back to summer days of old. I'm sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Ma's slicing strawberries and sprinkling sugar over them. We'll have strawberry shortcake for dessert after a day in the sun at the beach.

Now I'm wondering about you, my bloggy buds. I'd love to hear about the smells that transport you to somewhere else. I think that sometimes your nose knows exactly where you secretly want or need to be.

Lerv, lerv.