Ten Smells That Make Me Feel Wonderful

1. Clothes fresh out of the dryer
2. Bookstores, esp. Barnes and Noble
3. Old Spice
4. Camp fires
5. Maya's house, Stewart's house
6. Green bean casserole waiting for me in the oven
7. Greg
8. Cinammon
9. Winter mornings
10. Stewart's eucalyptus soap


Why is it that I cite my best friends' houses as some of my favorite smells? I guess because I have always felt welcomed in these homes. Maya and Mrs. Bohan always took/take me in eagerly, with open arms (most literally, so you'll excuse the blatant cliche). Even more remarkable: they never seem to be simply tolerating my presence; rather they say to me, "Having you sprawled across my couch to watch 'Saturday Night Live' with us makes me happy."

I know I don't smell my own house because I've grown both into and out of it; though how quickly it all happens! It's certainly not as if I've grown up in this place-- good lord, we've only been here three years. The one time I did smell the house was as follows: this past summer, we, the five of us, were gone for two weeks, meeting (for my siblings and me) about 78 relatives over the course of two weeks. When we got back, for about three hours (in betweenn wiping honey off of every souvenier we brought back, but that's another story), I could smell the house, smell it as I assume a stranger-- Aly comes to mind-- must. For some reason I was proud that I'd discovered--or finally noticed-- it, I guess because it meant that our house wasn't lacking in some magic that the Polans or the Bohans had unlocked; that it was just as warm, just as real; that we could perhaps create just as much of a haven as those I found in Maya's kitchen (dog food, perogies, candles, clay, laundry) or Stewart's living room (afghan blankets, eucalyptus, fajitas, Old Spice).