Common "Scents"

Why is it that my buried memories are so unwittingly unlocked by common everyday scents? For some, hearing a favorite song on the radio triggers a memory of an old boyfriend or watching a sunset brings reminds them of a favorite vacation. But for me, it's always a plain-old smell that conjures up the strongest memories. Opening up some moisturizer this morning took me back twenty years (p.s. they should advertise that on the bottle).

Today it was a typical morning: the kids busy eating breakfast and gathering their school items while I half-heartedly tried to put on at least a little makeup in between the interruptions. My skin has been really dry lately so I decided to try the lotion I recently found in the back of the cupboard. Who knew opening the cap would fill the air with the faint but unmistakable scent of my grandmother's skin? Frantically, like a person gathering the beads they've dropped, I sniffed and sniffed and sniffed until the light-headedness got the best of me. It was a losing battle to savor the memory before it faded away.

But for a precious moment, I was teenage version of myself watching her delicately put the moisturizer on her face before bed. It was intriguing how she religiously and meticulously took care of her skin. As a stupid, self-absorbed teenager, I must admit sometimes I wondered why it mattered (because you should stop caring after thirty, right?) Now, I admire her hope and marvel at how remarkably beautiful her skin remained throughout her seventies.

If she were still alive today, I might be receiving a lecture about taking better care of myself. In an ironic twist, I will now never use that moisturizer on my skin. Without a doubt, I know Grandma would have appreciated the humor in that. Instead, the magic lotion will be saved for anytime I need another way to remember her. If only I could tell her about how she is now like a genie in a bottle, I know I could hear her laugh one more time. If only there were a scent to help me remember that...