I was trying to find a photo to put with this post, but really, how can you take a photo of a scent?  How on earth could I represent all things wonderful that one little sniff can give you?

Yesterday, twice, I was overcome by reflection just because I smelled something wonderful.

The first scent was of Polo by Ralph Lauren.  When Polo was first introduce (to me at least) I was in high school.  All the preppy guys I knew wore Polo.  The scent filled the hallways and classrooms.  And it was, to me, a wonderful scent.

While looking at envelopes yesterday, just a few steps away another gentleman was looking for envelopes too.  I could smell the Polo he was wearing and didn’t dare look up. I wanted instead to think of all the friends I had and have not seen in years.  How well dressed they were in their polo shirts and khaki’s.  With their topsiders quietly walking the hallways.  And how the smell of Polo would always linger a few moments after they had passed.    I loved Polo so much a few of my girlfriends gave me a bottle to keep in my coat pocket.  And that I did for a long time.  I won’t discuss the dare I had to take a sip, one in which I fulfilled.  But, of a time where everyone seemed happy and there was so much ahead of us.  Just to be clear, my high school was not entirely preppy, but that was one side of my friends and one side of me.  Another time, when I smell another scent that takes me back, perhaps I will remember the punk rock friends or the friends that hung out in the smoking area (hey wait a minute, I think of them all the time… as I married one of them…).

Finally as the gentleman was about to leave the aisle I dared look up.  Just in case.  Just in case it was an old friend from high school that I haven’t seen in a long time.  Not this time.  Although he was a well dressed man with a pleasant smile he was not a long lost friend.  But, I was thankful for that moment to remember each and every one of them.

The second scent was such a simple one.  Coffee beans.  Every morning when I struggle to make my coffee, I don’t always get a moment to smell the coffee as it is brewing.  But, J was standing beside me when I opened the can that I had just freshly ground yesterday.  And he stopped me and said, “Mommy, that smells like the coffee shop!”.  So I explained, that yes coffee is what makes the coffee shop smell so wonderful.  And for just a few moments yesterday morning, while Apple was yelling for more food and J was singing the theme song from Indiana Jones (which brings back so many other memories).  I was taken back to a simpler time, when I used to hang out at coffee shops and actually savour my coffee.  Now I get to grab it while going through the drive through and sometimes, I get to savour it while driving around and letting the kids take a nap.   But, I also wouldn’t trade those simpler times for all the beans in Starbucks.

What scents take you back?