Sense of smell...

Do you ever really think about it? It's not something I give much thought--except when I light incense for my yoga practice or burn oil when the house is clean so that I can have an explosion of the senses.

But for the last week, I have been without my sense of smell thereby my sense of taste as well. The taste I can almost handle--tolerate, rather but my smell?

Today I have had intermittent periods of smell--especially after a good nose blow--and I gave each period heightened awareness, a tribute to smell, if you will. First, I noticed the oil I burned--vanilla spice with a splash of candied citrus...hmmm. Then, the shampoo I used in the shower and the citrus body wash--ahhhh. From there, the herbal lotion I used on my freshly shaved legs.

All of this got me thinking about what I was missing in my sense of smell--the sweet smell of my children, which can be musty depending on how far out from a shower they are, nonetheless, I know their smell and I depend on it. The smell of my tea or my coffee, the smell of the outside, the smell of the food that I prepare for my family. These are sweet smells that conjure feelings of contentment and joy.

But my smell also acts as a warning for me--when I'm driving down the road with outside air flowing into my car, sometimes, my sense of smell alerts me that I am taking in a heavy flow of fumes from the cars around me so I ventilate the car quickly and close the vents. On a lighter note, my smell also tells me that dinner might be overcooking or that a diaper needs to be changed--when I was babysitting today, I had to rely on my children's noses when it was time for a poop scoop.

I miss you smell--the yellow has almost run it's course and I anticipate a fragrant romance.