I have heard that the sense of smell brings back memories better than any other sense. I think I would agree. Last weekend we were walking in the park and someone was using a charcoal grill for a barbecue. I was immediately taken back to my childhood with thoughts of visits to my grandparents. We visited them every summer and one night of our visit always included a backyard barbecue of hamburgers and ended with homemade ice cream. I was amazed at how quickly the entire scene came back to me.
The same thing happens when I pass a bakery. My grandfather was a baker by profession and I have such fond memories of spending time with him in his bakery. My favorite memory was of getting one of his jelly filled donuts and taking it back to the jelly machine and giving it a few extra squirts of jelly until it practically exploded when I bit in to it. When I am in a bakery, the memories come flooding back.
Are there smells that bring back memories for you?
Alex is 17!
4 months ago
8 comments:
I know what you mean! You know that smell of garlic and olive oil at the beginning of homemade tomato sauce? Love it! It brings me back to my childhood and the Sunday dinners at my grandparents. My grandmother (dad's mom) is Italian and almost every childhood memory I have of her is in the kitchen- all of us girls gabbing around the table while the sauce simmers. Now when I make pasta for my family, I can't help but let the memories flood my thoughts. It's nice to have an escape, sometimes. =)
The smell of homemade bread reminds me of my mom. We never bought bread when I was growing up. She made all of our bread every week. Also, the smell of cinnamon is one of my favorites. It reminds me of my mom's cinnamon twists. It was one of our favorite treats.
It's kind of icky, but when I am walking through the streets of a big city, and catch that disgusting whiff of sour milk, it reminds me of being in the south of France when I was in college - I don't love the smell, but I do love the memories of Aix-en-Provence. I have lots of good baking smells that remind me of my Grandma's house, like apple pie, and homemade bread takes me back to those afternoons coming home from school to find that my mom had baked her yummy bread that day - and that we would get fresh bread and bottled peaches or applesauce for dinner that night.
Hairspray does that to me every time. There was a brand Tammy always used. And one I used for picture day right before my freshman year of high school.
I can barely even remember Grandpa's bakery, but there is a smell that often reminds me, not a specific product being baked . . . I don't know what it is, maybe a combination of many products. But if I smell that, it's like I'm standing in the back room of Grandpa's bakery. I guess it's the smell of the hot workroom bakery.
Homemade bread coming out of the oven often remind me of mom in Winslow. She always made bread. I don't know how - with 9 kids underfoot, she was supermom I guess.
The smell of propane reminds me of Spain. I know this is weird but let me explain. I spent a semester in Spain with my parents and sister. We had a little laundry off our kitchen and the washer water was heated with propane, the kitchen always held the smell. Also cigatette smoke mixed with diesel fuel reminds me of the streets of Madrid.
Oh, there are several. Probably the biggest one that popped into my head right away- strangly enough- is cigarette smoke! ha ha! Sometimes it takes me back to Thanksgiving dinners with my aunt when I was little- about 1/2 of the adults smoked. It always reminds me of those times. Not that I "like" the smell, because I don't...but you get my drift...:)
COFFEE! It reminds me of my Grandma and working at the bank. LOVE the smell!!
Post a Comment