The Smell of Memories
Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I opened a jar and smelled the contents. It was not just any jar, it was an old Spice Islands jar labeled Summer Savory.
The jar is vintage, probably from around the sixties. It doesn’t contain any Savory, but rather some potpourri I made one summer long ago.
When I smelled it (as I often do) I was immediately taken back to an old country store in Vermont–the Shelburne Country Store to be exact–on the day I discovered that they had the makings of potpourri on their shelves.
The aroma was intoxicating.
I remember the feel of the wooden floors beneath my feet as I stood staring.
I remember the excitement of smelling each ingredient. Smelling it again. So carefully choosing the smells I loved the best.
I got some rose petals and hips. Lavender. Patchouli.
The clerk said I’d need some orris root to set the smell.
The funny thing is, it not only smells like rose hips and patchouli, it smells like 13. It smells like endless possibilities. It smells like I will live forever.
Sometimes it smells like a feeling, like when I’m sad, it smells like hope. When I’m tired, it smells like adventure. And almost always, it smells of wonder.
Occasionally, when I close my eyes, it smells like a sunny day in a meadow with endless blue skies and a puffy white cloud drifting by.
And the laughter of children.
~~~
Sweet dreams my friends…
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Oh, the smells of youth! It’s going to sound funny but the smell that brings on the MOST memories is….wait for it, the smell of the ship. The USS The Sullivans its a combination of lube oil, oil based paint, burnt electrical and a pinch of salty musk and burnt coffee. As Sarah says “it turns you into an 18 year old, now STOP dad before you hurt yourself” If I could bottle that smell I would make a million (or go broke). It is the smell of most all old Navy ships, and definitely not for everyone. Ah, lost youth.
It doesn’t sound the least bit funny to me. The smell of the diesel engines in the trucks going to and from the plant took me back to the boathouse where I was stationed. We had to warm up all the rescue boats every morning, check the fuel and oil, top everything off. That was the best part of the day. The person on watch would get the boats ready before anyone else was up. The quiet of the early of the day, the salt air, the view of Chinaman’s Hat across the bay, the smell of the engines running…takes me back to being 20 and single, living in Hawaii…a beautiful, peaceful, exciting, happy time!
Carol, are you sure you weren’t smoking some of that potpourri and if not you, Mike perhaps!
I’m sure I wasn’t smoking any, but I can’t vouch for my brother. 🙂 I’m sure it sounds crazy to most people, but I love catching the smell of diesel drifting on a breeze. I loved having the 4-8 am watch just for that peaceful part of the morning going out to the boat slips, hopping onto each boat and running the engines. Making the coffee, having a cup and a cigarette watching the day unfold…there’s just nothing like it. Maybe it’s a Navy thing. 🙂
Sounds like a fabulous memory!
Those are the only ones I keep! ❤
Mary Ellen, I’m a life member of the potpourri smoking club (until it’s legal). There is nothing on earth more calming and peaceful than watching a sunrise or sunset 30 miles out to sea. Potpourri or not. Just you the “boat” and the good Lord…..ahh……..
I love this. I have so many smells from memory of childhood as well as adulthood. I can remember my mamas perfume smell. I have that jar that sat on her dresser for years. It now sits on my dresser alongside her lipsticks and holder for those old lipsticks. Perfume has not been used for years because mama developed a later in life allergy to most products. She kept it though and guess what? It still smells the same. That container is probably 30 years old. I open that top sometimes and just smile. A smell of great memories. That fragrance by the way is called Nina Ricci but in my memory of smells, it smells like my mama.
Susan, how wonderful that you can summon your mother just by opening a jar. I think that scent is the strongest tie to memories because we can close our eyes, inhale, and be in the middle of that memory. It’s powerful! ❤️