The Nose Knows

I've come to realize something about myself that's rather quirky:  certain smells make me super-abundantly happy.  Sure, I love to watch a pretty sunset, I love to taste great food, I've cherished the ever-so-soft skin of my three kids when they were babies, and there's no other sound I love best, I think, than the sound of ocean waves crashing on a beach (although, listening to my toddler breathe while he sucks his thumb is pure heaven).

However, while all well and good, and admittedly these things make me very, very contented, nothing comes close to invoking such strong reactions in me than certain aromas.  Good reactions.  And those reactions happen quickly.  I smell, I smile, I'm exultant.  My olfactory sense must dominate the others, I guess (hey.....no jokes about my nose being big!).  

Here are a few of my favorite smells:  pine at Christmas time (thus, nothing but a live tree in this household!), sheets after hanging outside to dry (one of my favs), sauteing onions and garlic, freshly mowed grass, the ocean, fresh-baked goods, my first cup of strong black coffee in the morning, my toddler's head (he's outgrown the baby smell, but has developed a 4-year old smell that only his Mama could appreciate :).)

What does all of this have to do with homeschooling, you might ask?  This is supposed to be a blog about our homeschooling days, right??!  Well, even if it had nothing at all to do with homeschooling, I'd still want to blog about it.  Just typing all those decriptions out made me smile; I think I perceptibly inhaled with each and every keystroke.

This has EVERYTHING to do with homeschooling because my favorite euphoria-invoking smell has to do with.....BOOKS.  Surprised???  :)

I love the smell of new books, I especially love the smell of OLD books (yes, I'm one of those geeks that opens old books to the middle, shoves my nose in and inhales.....and sighs).

I love the smell of a room in our house that we have dubbed the "library".  It is a long "room" that houses our sump pump at the end and around the corner.  It has built in bookshelves.....oh what bliss for a homeschooling family to find when househunting!  The smell, believe it or not, actually is a result of two runner-style rugs we have put down to cover the cement.  It's an odd smell to relish in, but I do.  Because that smell means "books" to me.  I inhale EACH AND EVERY TIME I walk in that "library".....I love it.

I also inhale each and every time I first walk into Barnes & Noble.  Ahhhhhhh.....the smell of coffee AND books, mingled into one.  What could be better?  The aroma portends a wonderful time ahead:  wandering, browsing, dreaming, most likely while holding a yummy cup of brewed goodness.

Boy, I am a geek, aren't I??  (don't answer that)