Scent Memories

Do you ever catch a whiff of something in the air and it transports you back to a different time and place? Like a random time and place? I was just sitting at my desk and put on some hand cream that I have used a dozen or more times but for whatever reason I was instantly transported back to Crosspoint Camp and a basement in a building of some random college that my group met in during that week. Of all the things in the world that this floral body butter could possibly make me remember, I was not expecting a dingy basement over twenty five years ago. How weird is that?

Glitter Beach Barbie's body glitter gel smelled phenomenal!

I think it’s amazing and slightly strange how scent has such a profound impact on us and how nine times out of ten it makes me remember something that I haven’t thought about in decades. Yes, I’ve had the moments of walking in my house and smelling my grandmother or smelling a soap that reminds me of college or a cologne that reminds me of a guy I went out with years ago but why do we connect scents to the seemingly forgotten moments and how does our mind hold on to seemingly unimportant memories? The cafeteria in third grade. A hotel room in Chicago in 2003. Glitter Beach Barbie. Yes, these are all real things with which I have had a recent scent memory experience and truthfully it makes me giggle. I’d love to know what other random memories are floating in the deep recesses of my mind waiting to be called into the light by a Glade plug-in.

So, does this ever happen to you? Does it freak you out? I’d love to know your experiences and if I’m alone.