Saturday, October 20, 2012

Familiar Smells

Becky and I were talking to our daughters just the other night. The conversation turned to when they were babies and I remembered bathing them each day and then lathering their entire bodies and relishing in the wonderful smell that the experience offered. I can smell that even as I write and it brings back such fond memories.
When Natalie was born I was at the end of my job training to get hired on as a full-time employee for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft. The training was stressful for me for many different reasons. It was October 2, 1995. I was in class when all of the sudden my name was called out by Becky's dad that we needed to go to the hospital because Becky was going to have a baby. At last the much anticipated moment was finally here! After she was born, I gave her first bath and the smell of that experience is very clear in my mind.
I love the smell of fresh flowers. The smell of a lilac bush reminds me of playing in my grandparents' yard. I can feel a football in my hand as I scrambled to get away from my older brother before he could tackle me. Those lilac bushes ran the perimeter of their yard.
The smell of goodness and cleanliness reminds me of the comfort I feel in the arms of my sweet wife. Becky always smells good.
The impact of a smell is powerful. We all have those smells just like I illustrated. Give it some thought and you'll find that some of your feelings are similar to mine.