Now, I know that sounds funny. Let me explain. Every time I hear a commercial for "Back to School" I can actually smell a new box of crayons. LOL! That got me thinking about other smells. Think about a certain teacher and I think of the smell of those mimmeod tests she handed out. (You know you smelled the paper too.) Those are my school related odors.....but I have come to realize I have others.
Then I can also smell something and it triggers a memory.
Am I crazy, or do you also have thoughts of the past triggered by smells?
I don't associate smells so much with events as to people. Like I can't smell any musk without thinking of a colleague, cigars I associate with my neighbor, or peppermint/cigarettes that remind me of my father.
I definitely associate certain smells with memories. I associate the smell of lilacs with summers at my grandparents' house - there were lilacs right outside my bedroom window. When I smell lilacs now, it makes me nostalgic.
Fresh cut fields reminds me of home. Coffee/cigarette/toothpaste breath reminds me of my teacher who used to hide that he smoked during the lunch break.
My grandmother passed away almost 8 years ago, and if I sit and think about it, I can remember exactly the way that she smelled. Every now and then when I am out, a woman will walk by that smells like her, enough to make me do a double take. I am assuming that it would be the exact same shampoo/toiletries/perfume combination, paired with the same cigarette brand.
When my mom died, I kept her robe - the one she wore around the house in the mornings and evenings. When I was really missing her, I would take it out of the bag and just breathe in ... this smell of her soap, her shampoo, a little cigarette smoke, and the perfume she wore. For months it was the only thing that could comfort me. Even now, smelling Clinique's Aromatics Elixir makes me think of her - and it's been almost 10 years.
I know a lot of people keep a piece of clothing from a deceased or departed love one. The smells and feels must bring comfort.
So funny, since I wrote this and have thought about it all day I am remembering many more odors. I am 59 years old and can even conjure up the smells of the hospital when I had my babies. You know, the smell was the same for the first and the last, 16 years apart. Combination of new baby and antiseptic smell I think. I much prefer the new baby smell.
I don't associate smells to events but certain smells to certain people...yes. Mine is more the music...ie a song that was played at my husband's funeral and mil's funeral is stuck with me. Or songs from the past, etc. not so much smells though.
Everytime i smell leather i get so happy...it reminds me of all the days i enjoy riding my horse. It may sound weird but leather smell makes me very relaxed....since horses are my passion. Even sweaty dirty horse leather smells good LOL
There are a few scents that I associate strongly with a particular person, place or event.
The combination of Bath & Body Work's Country Apple body spray and cigarettes will always remind me of my Mom.
The same with the scent of baking pumpkin pie.
But there is at least one association I wish I could erase completely, since it's not pleasant, but unfortunately it is deeply etched into my brain and will never go away.
That fake cinnamon apple smell in home stuff and menthol cigarettes reminds me of my mom, and really makes me stressed out/ anxious.
Dial soap and construction paper remind me of being little, and kind of make me sad
BUT! Curve cologne reminds me of my very first crush when I was 10 (he was 19 LOL) Fresh cut grass reminds me of my dad in the summer time, sweaty and drinking lemon-lime gatorade after mowing, and Fairy Non Bio tablets laundry detergent (in England) remind me of home, and I usually tear up over happy memories of daffodils and strawberry milkshakes on the English country side.
For Christmas every year I ask my English friends back home to mail me laundry detergent, and they always think I'm kidding so they never do. But I miss that smell so much. When our shipment came from England when we moved back state-side I unpacked all of my clothes on to my bed and laid on them all day, just breathing in that smell. Ohhh, England....
Thats funny..dh & I were just talking about this yesterday. When we smell rain, it makes us think of those hot rainy days in Arizona (which we really really miss!!).
Adidas will always make me think of my high school crush. Axe body spray is my hubby. Old spice is my grandpa, lol. The smell of a men's barber shop reminds me of my uncle. I bought some Vasline lotion awhile ago..and everytime I used it..I thought of my grandma. She ALWAYS uses it.
Although for my mom..everything just reminds me of her.
Last edited by Shopaholic1204; 07-28-2008 at 09:18 PM.
Do you associate smells to events?
You just made me remember my junior high school history teacher, who always wore a liter of Liz Claiborne cologne every day. 
