Smells....

What an odd title for a blog post. That's what I thought as I typed it in just now. So, today is my birthday. I'm 35. No shame. It is better than the alternative, I say :) Today was pretty uneventful, much like any other day. I was a momma today. I cleaned up a big fat mess made by my Labrador, I heated up breastmilk and put it in a sippy cup. I sang "If You're Happy and You Know It". My husband and I had a conference with the oldest one's teacher. We ate hamburgers. I bought a fake beard at Party City. I sang alone in the car with one of my favorite mid to late 90s tunes. I thought I sounded like all 4 chairs on The Voice would've turned. My phone has blown up with facebook and text love. Overall, not bad...not bad. This morning, after I did carpool, I stopped by Starbucks. As I was driving home, there was a little thing on the radio about the 20 best smells from childhood. While the DJs were listing them, I found myself thinking back a little, and smirking a lot, and giggling a little. So...in honor of my birthday, and the fact that I was 10 years old about 25 years ago, I'll share some that made my list. And y'all know I'm a sucker for a list :) :)

1. Mr. Sketch Markers - yes, I'm totally specific on the type. The others are just fakers. I have sniffed so many of these over the years, that I'm proud to have some brain cells left. I'm gonna admit that I even took my Mr. Sketches to college with me when I went to Alabama. Nothing rivals them.

2. Burn Pile - the burn pile. Oh yeah. Totally reminds me of childhood. I love this smell so much. When I was growing up, my Dad would burn leaves, trash, etc. on perfect Saturday afternoons while I played outside on my swingset. Sometimes I really was swinging, sometimes I just sat there and read, but always I breathed in that awesome smell :)

3. Wet Pavement - like during the summer when it was hot, and there was a summer shower, and it was over and then you went outside to play. There was an overwhelming scent of cleanliness. I mainly remember this from my great grandmother's house....but, I also remember the distinct smell of the Papermill from there, too. Ewwwww.....

4. Erasers - you know you love the smell of a new eraser. I vividly remember going to the Book Fair or to the supply closet and buying erasers in fun shapes like pumpkins or bats, watermelons or lemons. The next secret is that I loved to chew on them. Maybe I should delete that last part so y'all won't joke on me.

5. Fireworks - specifically sparklers. If you know me well, you know that I'm un-American and that I dislike fireworks. It's really not that I dislike fireworks....I think they look amazing! I do, however, dislike the fact that my husband always has to be involved with the show and we never get to snuggle and watch them. That makes me sad. Anyway, I remember going to my grandmother's house and grilling out until late in the night, going to the firework stand with my uncle and spending way too much money, and then waiting until it got super duper dark and holding sparklers. Of course, I was always a little nervous :)

6. Play doh - The good thing about having kids is that you get to re-live some of your childhood favorites. Every time that I smell play doh, I think about hanging out at church or school and making snakes and birds nests. So, now I play with my kids and enjoy the smell.

7. Swimming Pools - this totally reminds me of the YMCA when I took swimming lessons. It was always hot in the room with the indoor pool. The second you opened the door, the smell of chlorine knocked you down. But, we lived for it. I remember the floats, they were white, and cube shaped and you strapped them to your back. They looked like ice cubes. I went to swimming lessons on Saturday mornings, right after Alvin and the Chipmunks went off. I remember the locker room. It smelled like chlorine, too. I remember the music too - remember the song "No One is to Blame"? (you can look at the menu, but you just can't eat...you can feel the cushion, but you can't have a seat...). It was in heavy rotation.

8. Spaghetti - my Mom has the best spaghetti recipe ever. It's kinda special. I had it all the time. Every single birthday, I think that it's what I requested. Heck, Mom even made me some last week and sent it up to me :) When she cooks it, I still can picture myself on my 7th birthday. I was sick, so I couldn't have a party. My parents made me a fake party hat from newspaper and put it on my head and cooked me some spaghetti. How sweet!!!

9. New books - if you tell me that you don't remember or won't admit to smelling your new textbooks each new year of school....then, I'll call you a liar. You know you sniffed 'em.

10. Inside the Freezer at the Grocery Store - There's a specific smell in there. I don't really know what it is. It's the same in every place. When I open the freezer door at the local Wal-Mart, for just a second, I am transported back to Southeastern Meats, on a Saturday, with my Momma. Then, it was one of my least favorite stops, but sometimes, life would be so much easier if that's all that I had to do :)

There are many more. I could add crayons and raisin cream pies, my grandmother's house at Thanksgiving, and my backpack after being at school. These are just the ones that came directly to mind. I really enjoy looking back and thinking about all of the things that have happened in my life and what events brought me to where I am today. I hope that y'all enjoy this blog and think about your own childhood a little. I feel like thinking about my own, really makes me want to make it special for my little people so one day (in a million years - but not really), they will have happy memories of the smells, sights, and sounds of childhood!