I've always been amazed by how closely our senses are linked. There are certain foods and songs and sights that bring back very specific feelings and emotions.
I recently reacquired the Go West Young Man album by Michael W. Smith. (This is my third time owning it. I think I'll hold on to it this time.) As soon as I popped it into my CD player I was brought back to the summer of 1991. I had graduated from middle school and was entering Grade Nine at a very large high school. I remember having a crush on a particular boy that summer and thinking that maybe he liked me too. Once we actually entered high school and he found out I was to be picked on, instead of befriended, he quickly pretended he didn't know me. Still, every time I listen to this CD I have this youthful feeling of hope. I love it.
I picked up the Facedown CD by Matt Redman in 2004 or 2005 and listened to it ad nauseam while I was expecting my third child. No, really... When I put it into the CD player months later, I was suddenly hit with a feeling very similar to morning sickness! I eventually had to give the disc away because I just couldn't stand to listen to it. (And it's a lovely album, so I feel bad saying that.)
Broccoli on my pizza, olive oil, ratatouille... All foods that I couldn't eat for years after being nauseated by them while pregnant.
And then there are the sights that evoke powerful emotions. Seeing a pile of sheets and blankets and pillows on the floor gives me such a sense of contentment. I just want to jump in that pile and take a nap! (I've shared with many that one of my earliest and favourite childhood memories is lying in a pile of bedding that had been stripped and was ready to be taken to the laundry room.)
My heart skips a beat when I see a bicyclist on certain roads at certain times of the day. It could be my hubby coming home early, after all.
A baby with a little bit of milky drool. I nearly lactate at the sight! So many sweet moments and memories.
The smell of Herbal Essences makes me think of my mom, who doesn't wear any scented perfume, but always has nice, freshly washed hair. A musty house reminds me of the time my Grandma and I cleaned out her fruit cellar. A smell that's a mix of sweat and dirt makes me want to find my boys and hug them (and then send them immediately to the shower.)
I love it when those moments find me.
Any time I go back and visit the "boys" on Plank Road, the smells evoke a sense of fear and stress as I remember going to work in year LONG GONE BY. Thank God for giving me a strong enough body to live through those years and get me to where I am today... a much better person that I was before.
ReplyDeleteThe smells of "the Chemical Valley" made you aware riding in the bus that it was now safe to pass the gas you'd been holding!!
Ha ha! That's funny (about the Chemical Valley and passing gas).
DeleteI haven't been back there to that part of town since you moved away. I'm not sure what those sites and smell would evoke in me.
Every time we went to Sarnia to see Gramma, we'd drive down the River Road and in passing the Valley, the smells would bring out the memories or wealth, money and affluence.
ReplyDelete