Ready for a Friday Free-for-all? Your turn to share in the comments so we can all get to know one another! If you’re game, answer this question:
What scent brings back memories for you?
This one was super easy for me.
Coppertone. Yes, the sunscreen. See, I grew up not too far from the coast, and each summer we went to the beach at least twice, one trip with my mom’s family and one trip with my dad’s. The slightly coconutty smell of Coppertone is all about my childhood: family, ocean air, relaxed fun, and utter peace, all wrapped up in a bottle. You can’t get any better than that! I keep waiting for Bath and Body Works to make a lotion that smells like that sunscreen, but so far I’ve been disappointed. Wonder if Coppertone has some sort of smell trademark? Hmmmm…
A close second is the smell of fresh-cut lumber. My dad, grandmother, and grandfather used to form and install kitchen countertops, and I spent a lot of time on home construction sites or in the shop when they were working. There’s just something about sawdust that makes me feel safe and like a kid. When I married my husband and we moved fourteen hours away to Michigan, I told the grandfatherly handyman at the school where I worked about my sawdust memories. One day, when I was particularly homesick, he called me into his workshop, sawed a 2×4 in half, gave me a hug, and asked if I felt better. Oddly enough, I did.
-JB
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