Day 20:Smell

It has rained two days in a row this weekend. This is highly unusual for the time of the year. As we drive down to the library, my youngest child tells me the damp smell makes him very happy. It reminds him of when he was in first grade, playing in the park right next to our house. It's interesting that Maxime (who is now 10) says this. This morning, I walk the hills with Charlie, and the smell of the wind invokes a vision of a 2-year-old Camille (who is now 11) in her little limegreen coat. The other day, my 19-year-old son commented on the scent I wear. "Right, this is your perfume, isn't it? I rememer it now." Jinsuke lives in Tokyo. I hope he thinks of me fondly when he smells the perfume.

Smell is an interesting sense. It can bring back vivid memories. A little whiff can send you back to heaven or hell. I haven't smelled despair in 16 years now, and hope never to smell it again. It's the will to prevent this smell from returning, that has spurred me on all these years.