About two years ago, I was shopping at Kohl's. I was in the women's shoe section and suddenly, out of nowhere, I could smell my Grandpa. Now, my Grandpa has been gone for over a decade, so it has been a long time since I smelled him. In fact, I didn't even know Grandpa had a smell! I'm sure what I was smelling was his cologne.
I looked around frantically and saw an older gentleman shopping with his wife. I purposefully walked by him so I could get a whiff. There was no mistaking it, that's where the smell was coming from. I really wished I would have asked the man what kind of cologne he was wearing but I was too emotional. I walked by him two more times on purpose just so I could smell him, but by then tears were streaming down my face. The smell really made me miss my Grandpa.
Smell is the sense most linked to memories. I think we all have had experiences where we smell something and suddenly, we are transported back to a time in our lives associated with that smell. It is so remarkable to me how this happens.
Here are some of the smells that transport me back in time...
Fog Machines- Whenever I smell a fog machine, I am instantly reminded of being backstage during The Will Rogers Follies. I played a Zigfield Girl in this show when I was 13. In the opening and closing number, a fog machine was used. But of course, the smell lingered backstage. I had so much fun in this musical and love to be reminded of it!
Peach Body Spray- Another musical memory! The year after The Will Rogers Follies, I was in the musical Peter Pan. All summer during rehearsals, I wore peach body spray from Bath and Body Works. Whenever I smell it, I'm instantly 14 again!
Fresh Cut Grass- This smell in general reminds me of playing outside when I was a kid. I bet we all think of our childhood when we smell someone mowing the grass! The best is when they are mowing the grass outside my room at school and the smell wafts in... Ah, happy childhood memories!
Pine Needles- This other outdoor smell reminds me specifically of going to day camp at Camp Hebron.
Balsam- To me, balsam is THE quintessential Christmas smell. Whenever I smell it, I think of Christmas in my childhood home. My mom always made Christmas special, and one of the ways she did that was that there were a lot of decorations to put up! One of the decorations probably smelled like balsam, but since they were all stored together, I think everything sort of picked up that smell!
Here are some random PLACES that have a distinct smell to me...
1. Hollister. I don't go inside, but I can smell it from a mile away!
2. Target. It smells like popcorn.
3. The Haunted House at Knoebel's. I'm not sure what it smells like, but I know that smell.
Any smells that remind you of a family member who is gone?
What about a place you go to that has a distinct smell?
I love this post so much cus I can totally relate! I have a teeny tiny bottle of a perfume my grandma wore in my desk drawer at home and every once in a while I will take a whiff of it.
ReplyDeleteThe other week I caught a scent of bath and body Works Sun Ripened Raspberry in the hall at work and it instantly took me back to my college days!
I could go on and on with all the smells that create a memory but I won't hijack your post..haha.
I actually do know that the haunted house at knobels has a distinct smell. It's been over a decade, maybe two since I've actually been inside of it but I remember it smelling like railroad ties or something like that. Would that be accurate?
It must be so nice to have your Grandma's perfume. I think sometimes we don't even notice people have a smell until we don't smell them for awhile and then realize, oh yeah, they did have a smell! You should write a post about this too. Yes, I think likening Knoebels to railroad ties is similar. It's not exact, but it's prob the combo of the wood and metal that smell that way.
DeleteAll the smells! Ironically I just put on some Vanilla Bean Noel lotion from Bath & Body Works. Every time I put it on my co-worker says I'm baking cookies because it smells so yummy :)
ReplyDeleteMmmm that's a good smell to smell in the office!
DeleteI can't go into Yankee Candle...all the smells...WAY too much. And I am not even sensitive to fragrance but OMG.
ReplyDeletelol! I haven't been in one of those stores in awhile because I always get them at like Ross or Marshalls where they are cheaper.
DeleteMy grandparents house always had the same smell, and I never knew what went into it. Cologne or perfume, cooking, coffee? What was it? I love the smell of coffee because all 4 grandparents drank it. I don't drink it, but it's always been comforting.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I tasted coffee was at my grandparent's house. Sometimes they would let us have a sip. :)
DeleteThis is so beautiful! I hope you get to figure out what cologne your grandfather wore.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother smelled of sunshine and fresh made tortillas, for my grandfather, I can remember the smell of his leather jacket and zest soap on his face.
For me Christmas smells of fresh peeled mandarins and peanuts. For years, I tried to force the pine smell and my brain kept on rejecting it, and adding a layer of stress to it. Isn't it weird how brains make strange associations to smells? I love this post so much!!
What does sunshine smell like? Leather jackets definitely have a distinct smell! Yes it is so weird how brains can associate smell. I love it though.
DeleteTo me, sunshine is the smell that one gets after being outside for a long time. Not like being at the beach, the ocean interferes with that scent.
DeleteThe sunshine smell is that of crispy sun drying clothes, slightly touching skin (without sunblock). It's really just a natural toasty smell that people get after being outside for a long time.
OMG, smells are so sneaky. They really can bring back long forgotten memories - sometimes pleasant, sometimes not so much ;)
ReplyDeleteThere is smell of burned toast that takes me back to the cafeteria at Tufts University in Boston where I spent a language course way back in 1993. RANDOM!
There is a perfume, that totally reminds me of my greataunt (who was my substitute grandma, because my grandma died when I was six. Funny side note: I dreamed about my grandma last night!).
Do you like dreaming about family members that have died? I dream about my grandpa a couple times a year and in the dream, I know he is dead, but it's like I get to just spend a couple minutes with him. I end up waking up feeling sad, but during the dream I am happy.
Delete