I’ll Take You Back
- September 23rd, 2008 9:30 pm
When I was a little girl, my mother worked full time while attending school full time. She was busy, and her budget was tight. We were fairly poor. We didn’t go hungry or anything, and we had cable. So by most standards, I suppose we were okay.
One Summer, my mother’s washing machine decided to break down, and at the time, she could not afford to have it fixed. So every week we went to the laundry mat to wash clothes. It was the only time my mother allowed us to drink pop (soda?). Once a week my brother and I were allowed to devour one can of the soda of our choice
I always picked 7up. I liked the way it smelled when mixed with the clean scent of the laundrymat. I enjoyed the way the bubbles felt on my tongue, and I savored the feeling of the cold can against my mouth. But truly, it was the scent of 7up and dryer sheets that kept me going back.
I can’t smell 7up or take the first drink of it without the imaginary smell of a dryer sheet or fabric softener wafting up into my nose, and it really takes me back. I feel like I’m sitting in the small laundry mat helping my mother fold faded Strawberry Shortcake sheets or having her read Dr. Seuss books to me repeatedly. The power of smell is so amazing.
What smell takes you back?
September 23rd, 2008 @ 9:32 pm
See, and I can only drink 7up when I’m sick. That’s also when I can eat Saltines. Beyond that realm, they’ve never entered my mouth.
MomBabes last blog post..GIVEAWAY!
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September 23rd, 2008 @ 9:40 pm
Awe. What a pretty post…. you are dead on. Smells are so important.
We had a washer but no dryer growing up. My most fav smell is air dried sheets. I still dry all of my sheets outside in my “nice” subdivision.
I wonder what my neighbors think. I just love the smell.
OHmommys last blog post..Cooking in leotards with Lola
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September 23rd, 2008 @ 9:43 pm
love this post.
estee lauder’s beautiful, freshmen college dorm…every girl doused in it.
feeners last blog post..One sentence…
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September 23rd, 2008 @ 9:49 pm
It’s funny, I never think about the power of smells, until I smell something that has a powerful memory. Mine is sawdust. As a little girl, I used to go down into my dad’s workshop in the basement, where he had a ton of tools and a box of scrapwood. The floor and shelves were covered with sawdust. I would watch him work and he’d give me a small hammer (like a ball-ping hammer, the kind with no claw on the back) and I’d hammer nails into a board. Or I’d take a chisel and hammer words into a board. It was my form of art.
Also, I have an INTENSE memory whenever I smell that nasty stuff they have at schools that they sprinkle on vomit, in order to get the vomit to dry up. The smell of THAT STUFF makes me want to vomit, all by itself. It looks like red sawdust. But it does not smell like sawdust!
Texan Mamas last blog post..Grocery Cart Etiquette
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September 23rd, 2008 @ 9:58 pm
Smells trigger powerful memories in our brain. I loved this post! 7-Up and the laundry mat, Strawberry Shortcake. Very nice.
I’ll have to think about what smells affect me that way. Ralph Lauren perfume reminds me of my mom…she used to wear it when I was younger.
Rheas last blog post..Out of the Box – UPDATED
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September 23rd, 2008 @ 10:03 pm
When I smell a certain after shave, it brings back the memory of the idiot I worked with that drowned himself in it.
ReformingGeeks last blog post..Purple Mountains
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September 23rd, 2008 @ 10:14 pm
Freshly poured tar. I remember a family vacation when my sister was complaining about it, but I loved it. I wanted to inhale it forever.
It’s like a reminder of new beginnings, new travels, and pseudo-happy family times. Pretty great, really.
NGSs last blog post..Weekend plans
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September 23rd, 2008 @ 10:17 pm
Vanilla and Lavendar always remind me of my mom. My family friend was a candle maker so a lot of smells like “blueberry muffin” and “caramel apple” remind me of making candles with her.
Foods bring me back a lot too though.
This week I’ve made two comfort foods because I’ve been feeling a little down. One meal was rice with cream of mushroom soup as a sauce with pork chops cooked along with. The second is fried egg sandwiches.
Jacklyns last blog post..I thought it’d work
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September 23rd, 2008 @ 10:31 pm
One smell that I have memories attached to is the smell of campfire smoke. Whether I’m at the fire or not. Campfires have always been important to my family, so the smell reminds me of all the great fires we’ve had when my dad plays guitar and we all sing together. I’m glad you made me think of that tonight
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September 23rd, 2008 @ 10:39 pm
The power of scent is just crazy amazing, isn’t it? For me it will always be the smell of one particular kind of hairspray and another particular kind of gum – instantly transported to one particular summer, and I’ll leave it vaguely there, remembering, savoring and in awe at what a scent can make you recall.
Ah, the laundromat. I’m glad I don’t have to go anymore because it was always a pain in the ass, but your memory brings back mine and the smell of laundry being done – always smells so good.
Maggie’s Minds last blog post..Talkin’ Baseball
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September 23rd, 2008 @ 11:03 pm
Campfire smell.
dark starry nights spent out in Death Valley with my family.
We all rode and raced motorcycles and dunebuggies.
It was a magical time.
My dad died 4 years ago.
We took his ashes to the desert and spread them in the wind.
And we had a campfire. The last one.
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September 24th, 2008 @ 1:42 am
Vinegar always makes me think of growing up in my grandmother’s house- she cleaned with it.
Gardenias for my mother.
And cinnamon gum and motor oil for my first love.
Ah, memory lane!
niks last blog post..Trading Ad Spaces
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September 24th, 2008 @ 1:43 am
I don’t have a very good sense of smell, so I’m not sure.
But I love laundry mats so much. They’re so peaceful. I loved playing in the baskets as a child, and sitting and relaxing when I was a bit older. Whenever the washing machine breaks at home, my mom would be shocked to see how excited my sisters and I would be to go to the Laundrymat.
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September 24th, 2008 @ 1:48 am
Oh this was a powerful post. You are so right about smells.
Hmm..
Fresh cut grass takes me back to summers as a kid. And the Gap’s “Fresh Cut Grass” scent they had. ha ha.
Baby powder makes me think of the first time I “met” my half sister, about 2 weeks after she was born. That smell takes me back every time.
Pumpkin Pie scented candles make me think of fall & crisp weather. Ahhhhh.
Excellent post!
:]
Heathers last blog post..Mish Mash
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September 24th, 2008 @ 6:52 am
Brown sugar and cinnamon. Takes me back to my old kitchen at my dad’s house from when my parents were still married, and my mom was making coffee cake for a coffee group with some ladies from church.
I love smells!! I have so many that remind me of so many things!! But the one I mentioned is the first one that springs into my mine. I made a coffee cake a few weeks ago, and I felt like I was 6 years old, begging to lick the spoon and taste some of that yummy topping goodness.
~Brea
Brea in Texass last blog post..and we’re off!
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September 24th, 2008 @ 6:53 am
My great-grandma’s basement had a certain smell to it. Sort of mildewy basement mixed in with the smell of clothes drying. I rarely smell that smell anymore, but when I do, I immediately think of her basement.
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September 24th, 2008 @ 7:25 am
Calvin Klein’s Obsession for Men.
Takes me back to high school – ALL the boys wore it! LOL!
Eternal Sunshines last blog post..I got nothin’
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September 24th, 2008 @ 7:58 am
I think you read my mind sometimes because first, it was the Mcdonalds in the car entry (cooling it off with the a/c), then a few others but now this!
Last night, I realized the smell of fresh cut grass and someone grilling reminds me of being a kid. That is the smell that makes me want to be a kid SO bad again. It takes me back to running around the neighborhood, riding bikes, and getting to eat dinner outside on the patio.
And my grandpa used to let me get a pop at our fishing dock, I always got grape. Not that the smell mixed well with FISH, but it always tasted that much better!
Ashs last blog post..Favorite Finds
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September 24th, 2008 @ 8:32 am
Smell really is a powerful sense, isn’t it? I think smells bring me back to specific times in my life more than anything else.
Lovely childhood memory.
Kathryns last blog post..Antsy
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September 24th, 2008 @ 8:49 am
The smell of pickles in a deli always reminds me of Saturday lunches with my Grandfather.
jennis last blog post..The Natural
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September 24th, 2008 @ 8:54 am
For me it’s the smell of brewing coffee. It takes me back to living in my granparents house, when Grandpa used to percolate a pot of coffee every morning. And mornings in that kitchen, with the sun streaming in through the windows, and bowls of cereal – but if it was Mom’s day off, she’d be awake and she’d make me three minute eggs – my comfort food to this day.
lceels last blog post..Great Bloggy Bling Orgy – Grand Finale
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September 24th, 2008 @ 9:19 am
Sheets or clothes that have been line dried take me back to childhood. I grew up in the boonies and we had a huge clothesline. My mom always hung everything out in the summer.
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September 24th, 2008 @ 10:01 am
Hm what brings me back?
Este Lauder Pleasures for Men
The smell of snow
Apple cinnamon candles
Pizza dough rising
Snowmobile exhaust and beer
Any of the above will slam me back into good memories. Ha.
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September 24th, 2008 @ 11:39 am
The small of Cover Girl pressed powder reminds me of my grandmother who passed away when I was 6. I remember sitting on her lap while she put makeup on and that scent has always reminded me of that…amazing, huh, considering I was so young!
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September 24th, 2008 @ 11:50 am
Polo…..makes me think of the teacher in grade 8 that would always wear it, and he always tried to look down the girls tops!
Jenns last blog post..Play Time / Nap Time !
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September 24th, 2008 @ 12:16 pm
First of all, no matter WHAT my boyfriend tells you, it’s SODA.
CK One will always remind me of my freshman year in college. Bleh.
Rhis last blog post..Introducing Lupron Rhi
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September 24th, 2008 @ 12:22 pm
Great post! Whenever I smell baking bread I’m reminded of my childhood home. My mom used to bake all sorts of different breads. It’s a very homey smell for me.
calicobebops last blog post..Moving on… Help, please!
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September 24th, 2008 @ 12:50 pm
Good or bad, or just weird?
My 2nd baby’s poo diapers always smelled like microwave popcorn. I can’t smell it now without going back to full diapers. So gross!
Anissa@Hope4Peytons last blog post..Do I hear him now?
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September 24th, 2008 @ 1:22 pm
My grade school always had a certain smell – it was like floor wax, pencil shavings and new crayons all rolled into one. Every now and then I go somewhere and catch that same combo – it takes me back to the hallways of my elementary school in a flash!
HeatherPrides last blog post..They’re BAAAAAAaaaaaack
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September 24th, 2008 @ 1:53 pm
I totally stumbled you again, lol! Woot!!! HI! (Sorry, MASSIVE amounts of caffiene this morning!)
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September 24th, 2008 @ 2:29 pm
I remember those days too. We didn’t have money and weren’t allowed to have soda either. On Friday nights, we would get a pizza and a two-liter of Pepsi and all sit down to dinner together.
I have a cupboard that came from my Grandmother’s cellar. I spent my summers with her in NY and I would spent hours and hours in that cellar snooping through history. It smelled damp and like moth balls. When my grandmother passed away, my mom brought me that cupboard since she knew I loved it. I still open it sometimes (ten years later) and can smell the moth balls and it takes me back. Great post btw!
Caseys last blog post..Sexual Healing
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September 24th, 2008 @ 3:06 pm
The smell of a musty basement. It reminds me of my Grandmother.
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September 24th, 2008 @ 4:01 pm
Lovely post!
Jergen’s cherry-almond lotion always reminds me of my grandmother, God rest her soul.
Gails last blog post..My Nemesis
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September 24th, 2008 @ 4:51 pm
Hugo Boss Cologne: My now husband, then boyfriend’s fav. cologne.
Oil of Olay: My Grandma
Wood pencils: Elementary school
I have a BUNCH more- but can’t think of any more now….
Kalyns last blog post..YOU!!!
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September 24th, 2008 @ 6:24 pm
The smell of chlorine causees me to relive the horrors of PE classes where we were forced to swim in the disgusting, smelly indoor pool at my middle school.
Michelles last blog post..My ego is swelling
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September 24th, 2008 @ 8:49 pm
The smell of mint chocolate coffee reminds me of my mom. And the smell of Old Spice and pipe tobacco remind me of an uncle that passed away a long time ago.
WickedStepMoms last blog post..Keeping Your Children Safe Online: Part I
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September 24th, 2008 @ 8:55 pm
That pistachio fluff stuff? For some reason, it reminds me of walking into my much-loved grandmother’s house.
Rees last blog post..Stolen – One More Book List
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September 24th, 2008 @ 11:21 pm
Drinking 7 up brings the smell of my Grandpa’s aftershave to mind. He always gave us 7 up when we came over. Mostly because he drank 7&7 so 7 up was what he had. LOL! Oh and blueberry or grape hubba bubba that smell reminds me of him too. My mother hated that he’d buy us each our own pack of “stinky” bubble gum every time he came up to see us. LOL!
The Farmers Wifes last blog post..Keepin’ It Real!
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September 24th, 2008 @ 11:52 pm
Rice and raisins mixed with milk and sprinkled with cinammon. It was the first meal my mom would make us afer we’d been sick. My kids never took to it. Sigh.
Jenn @ Juggling Lifes last blog post..Truly Wondering
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September 25th, 2008 @ 12:22 am
I can taste and smell them both!
Meyer lemons bring me into my grandmother’s yard, and then standing in her kitchen making lemonade.
While my son never met her, he has a passion for lemonade which makes me smile.
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September 25th, 2008 @ 12:50 am
Palmolive Dish Soap reminds me of my Grandma’s house.
Jergen’s orginial scent lotion reminds me of my Mom when I was little.
Downy fabric softener reminds me of my first real boyfriend (his mom must’ve used a LOT because it was strong!). After we broke up, I smelled it and cried.
Auto parts remind me of going to work with my dad.
I love the smell/memory connection!
dysfunctional moms last blog post..If this is a dream, do NOT wake me up!
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September 25th, 2008 @ 6:07 am
banana in a lunchbox on a hot day takes me back to grade 3 hot sticky classroom where is was 42C and the teacher would not let us have a break to cool down. But the principal came in, herded us all outside and hosed us all down… awesome.
(Sorry didn’t Americanize any of that so it is probably all foreign)
Kelleys last blog post..Hi, how are you?
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September 25th, 2008 @ 10:56 am
7-up has a smell?!?!?
for me, it’s lilacs. we used to have them in our backyard and every time i smell them i think of my childhood
alis last blog post..clearly this post has not had enough coffee yet today…
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September 25th, 2008 @ 11:12 am
That’s possibly the most beautiful piece on a laundry mat.
My scent would have to be sawdust. My dad is a carpenter and I was constantly surrounded by it. Even now, I think it’s one of the best scents.
Heart Gone Walkings last blog post..A linky post
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September 25th, 2008 @ 1:14 pm
I love this post! I get flashback smells all the time too.
Karens last blog post..These are days . . .
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September 25th, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
Nice post! Every time I smell fresh sawdust, I’m instantly transported to the married student housing at U of CA where my Dad was getting his Ph.D. They were doing construction at the time, and I used to harass the contractors without end. Poor guys.
goodfathers last blog post..Bailout
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October 2nd, 2008 @ 1:18 pm
honeysuckle on a summer night — I grew up in the South, then moved away for 12 years. When I’d visit, I’d roll down the windows on a summer night and just breathe it in. It brings back so many nights from high school riding around in my friend’s convertible — the summer I met my husband.
The smell of damp leaves — instantly I’m a kid again, losing myself in the woods, pretending to be an explorer.
The smell of Purell hand sanitizer takes me back to when my son was brand new, we used it with wild abandon, always afraid we would get germs on him
Now he eats day old Cheerios off of the floor!
janes last blog post..The economy is falling! The economy is falling!
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October 2nd, 2008 @ 1:27 pm
Ali,
Yep. If you drink it from a can it smells like aluminum and lemon. I love the smell.
-Amanda
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October 2nd, 2008 @ 1:28 pm
Jane,
Purell makes me think of my daughter’s nursery when she was a baby. It always smelled like purell and pampers. I loved the scent. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
-Amanda
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October 2nd, 2008 @ 1:28 pm
Heart Gone Walking,
Thanks you so much. Also, thank you for stopping by and commenting.
-Amanda
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October 2nd, 2008 @ 1:30 pm
Michelle,
I was a lifeguard for a few summers in high school. It goes without saying that the smell of chlorine haunts me. haha.
-Amanda
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October 2nd, 2008 @ 1:31 pm
Amy,
Thanks so much for the stumble on this post!
-Amanda
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October 2nd, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
Feener,
My mother wears Estee Lauder’s Beautiful (even though I am totally allergic to it). The smell of it always makes me think I’m going to be late for something, because it was the last thing she sprayed on in the morning after getting us ready to go to school. haha. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
-Amanda
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October 2nd, 2008 @ 1:36 pm
Elisha,
Yes! My grandmother always smelled the same. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting.
-Amanda
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