Before my surgery I was contemplating what side-effects I could most easily tolerate. (As though I’d be able to choose…) Unbeknownst to me, certain potentials were already in place, such as loss of peripheral vision, memory loss, a permanently weakened/ sore right side of my face, paralysis, brain spasms/ twinges, dizziness, loss of musicality, DEATH, etc. Anyway, I decided that the “best” sense to lose would be my sense of smell. And the olfactory lobe just happened to be right near the surgical point, so I allowed myself to picture the doctor tarnishing it. But then I remembered that my Aunt Genie got in a really terrible bike accident, and ended up losing her sense of smell for some odd reason. And now she can’t really taste, and it seems like a lot of joy must have been sucked away. (I imagine she’s dealt with it in a very positive way.) But I got to thinking about my favorite smells, and how much I’d miss them if they were lost. They are…
Seaside Escape (Bath and Body Works)
Sensual Amber (Bath and Body Works, disregard the name)
Homemade bread
RAIN
Anything on Fast Sunday 🙂
New running shoes
Sizzling Bacon
Charcoal
Wet Paint
Gasoline
um, yeah
Popcorn
New mown grass
Vanilla
Gingerbread (and other Christmasy smells)
“It’s supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, and I can smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and–“
“They chose the one nearest a gold-colored cauldron that was emitting on of the most seductive scents Harry had ever inhaled: Somehow it reminded him simultaneously of treacle tart, the woody smell of a broomstick handle, and something flowery he thought he might have smelled at the Burrow. He found that he was breathing very slowly and deeply and that the potion’s fumes seemed to be filling him up like a drink. A great contentment stole over him; he grinned across at Ron, who grinned lazily back.”
Huh. I guess we don’t think about our favorite smells very much, do we? Until we have the possibility of losing it, I guess. Thanks for writing! My aunt also has no sense of smell, and that could be dangerous at times. For example, not smelling her grandbaby’s diaper.
Wow, this is a div post. Those smells are mostly delightful. I think it’s funny, though, that certain weird smells, at least for me, are really nice because they remind one of old memories or good places, like Harry smelling the Burrow. I treasure smells as the most intuitive form of memory, but it was illuminating to read you more in depth commentary. Everything was just well said and well thought.
Why, thank you both! Leen, you do know that the flowery scent Harry thought he had smelled at the Burrow was Ginny’s smell? 🙂 But I agree that smells absolutely carry memories, probably often subconsciously.
It is my great delight to figure out if peoples personalities were scented what would they smell like. I love the quotes from Harry Potter. That is possibly one of my favorite parts! Amber I wonder how much your favorite smells will change when your in Hawaii? You will have to let us know what tantalizing things you come across!