When you close your eyes and breathe deeply through your nose...what do you smell? Does the aroma waft deeply into the recesses of your mind and bring forward a sweet memory of something long ago?

Jergan's Lotion: my Mom. She always lathered herself in that white cream and her skin was always soft. When I smell that fragrance, I see my Mom's face.

Carnations: My Daughter. She loved carnations! When I smell that flower, I see her smiling face and feel her arms around me in a big warm hug.

WD-40: my Son. He was always spraying that stuff on something! He believed in WD-40 and duct tape. What a guy!

The salty spray as it blows in off the ocean: many vacations and happy times standing on the beach with my family or just my husband or sometimes just by myself. Peaceful, restful...harmony with my environment.

I lost a smell yesterday. I went by my Dad's house. It is for sale and I wanted to check and see if everything was in order. No cobwebs, no dust...just a house looking to be a home for some family. I had a habit of going in the back door, turning left into his bathroom and opening the cabinet over the sink. I would close my eyes and breath deeply. It smelled like Old Spice and Obsession. It smelled like my Daddy. He left us for a Heavenly Home last year. Until yesterday, I could smell him and for a minute he was standing by my side, calling me "Doll" and reassuring me that all would be well in my world as those big arms squeezed me close to his chest.

Yesterday, that smell was gone. Where did it go? Has a year taken it away? No one scrubbed the cabinet and cleaned away the smell. What happened???

Here is my thought: Daddy was saying it's time to let the old house go. Stop trying to bring me back through your olfactory system. I'm alive in your heart...not your nose.

I called my brother and told him it was time to be aggressive about selling the house. I didn't have to tell him why. The "For Sale" sign is posted by the big front porch beside the sidewalk that supported many skating events and bike rides. The tulips are blooming in the round flowerbed. The hasta is poking it green leafy heads through the soil. It is time.

I hope you have some "Memory Smells" tucked away. I hope they bring sweet remembrances when you close your eyes and let the fragrance wind its way from your nose to the deep memory pockets of your mind.

MzScarlett...Taking time to smell the wonders along the path.