Your Nose Knows

For many of us there are songs, when we hear them, that conjure up memories of specific people, places, and experiences. They make us think of who we danced with at a high school prom, or the road trip you were on when you heard this song, or the song that made a bad day better a long time ago.

Our senses are crazy powerful things.

I don't think I'm alone when I say I can apply the same concept to smells. In fact, I've written about it before. A funny side note: I wrote that post I am referencing almost exactly a year ago. Strange.

Monday night I drove to our local Dollar General for some muffin mix. I vaguely remember thinking it felt a little sticky outside, even at a cool 58 degrees. When I got back to the house and stepped out of the car, it hit me. It smelled like Wewa. It smelled like Florida in the summer. It smelled like this:





What I smelled Monday night smelled like our first experiences here. When it is warm here it smells warm. It not only feels humid, but it smells humid. While it was by no means hot earlier this week, the slightly warmer temps and the leftovers from the rain we'd had earlier in the day combined to make it smell and feel like spring.

I was a little unprepared for the emotions that tugged at me as I stood on our porch. Suddenly I remembered everything about our move and our arrival in Wewa. I remembered how difficult it was, and sometimes still is, to be away from familiarity. I recalled the group of people that was waiting in our front yard for us, the mess of our house after everything was moved in, and the realization that set in that this was where we were.

This isn't the first time I have caught a whiff of something that reminds me of that time and I know it won't be the last. I guess each time I smell something that reminds me of those experiences I realize that now the scenes I see aren't so foreign to me. I'll admit, it is still hard to call here "home," even almost two years later, but the memories that are brought up by those smells aren't bad ones. Sometimes I barrel on through the thoughts and sometimes, like Monday, I pause and really think about them.

Today I am thankful that in just a few days I will be with my family!