Today was a good day. We ran into a dwarf lilac bush that had such a strong scent I could smell it across the parking lot. As I got closer I closed my eyes and just stopped and slowly inhaled…and was instantly transported to my Michigan childhood home. It was a warm summer afternoon and I was playing in the front yard with the neighbor kids. The lilac bush was right in the center and was easily twice as tall as I was and probably 20′ around. We’d run circles around that thing trying to catch each other. My mom would cut branches off and bring them in the house so we could smell it all night long—and if we were lucky they’d last another whole day.
Sigh.
My mom still lives there but the lilac bush is long gone…but the memory of it will never fade.
What smells take you back to your childhood?
And thanks to the scissors I carry in my car this time of year…
