Smelling Memories

 I will never stop appreciating the memories that can be triggered by a smell. 

The scent of lilac reaches me and immediately I am sitting on my great-grandmother's back porch looking over the flower and vegetable gardens that covered half of the yard. Me in a folding lawn chair, my great-grandmother in a wooden rocker. Together we watched the birds, squirrels, and bees as they went about the tasks nature had assigned them.

A weekend visit to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania is an annual must do for our family. On the walkway leading to the entrance of the amusement park, I always catch a whiff of the chocolate being freshly manufactured nearby. The smell makes me think not of candy bars, but of  six-year-old me sitting at the dining room table stirring Hershey syrup into my milk.

 Hands-down, the smells of October, November, and December trigger more memories than any other time of year. 

October brings the smell of fresh-pressed apple cider that carries me to orchards lying amidst rolling hills edged with trees in their riot of fall colors. The chilly stone-walled retail shops in those orchards offered not only cider but warm-from-the-oven apple cider donuts both of which were consumed only after selecting the perfect pumpkin for the front porch.

November is the month of roasting turkeys. For me the smell takes me to Thanksgivings and my grandparent's kitchen warmed with richly-colored paneled walls, in-wall oven, and unconditional love. While the rest of the extended family hobnobbed in the living room waiting for dinner to cook, I sat in the corner of the kitchen watching the preparation of food that would soon laden the dining room table.

December brings the rich smell of freshly cut pine and a turkey repeat. That combination of smells reminds me of when  my sister and I stood in the hallway, dressed in pajamas and bathrobes, waiting for the go-ahead to rush into the living room and find what Santa had left beneath the tree. The opening of gifts was an activity requiring nourishment in the form of orange juice, hot tea, and cinnamon rolls. Those are the earliest of my Christmastime memories. The totality of Christmas memories could fill a book. I'll explore some of this memories as the season draws closer.