Ahhh.....the Sweet Smell of The Sweet Life!

The human species possesses 5 senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Today I would like to talk with you about the latter sense – the one of ‘smell’.

Now, I live with two boys and smell is something I wish I did not have when it comes to the time of day when they take their shoes off, leaving them scattered around the living room floor. This potpourri of sweaty gym socks and decaying sneakers is not something I most enjoy as a part of my home environment. I am a big fan of candles, Febreeze, and open windows….oh, and showers with soap. However, this smell reminds me that I do run a household of healthy, active boys and this, ultimately, makes me very happy.

I also have a dog, Max. If you follow my blog, you have met him already. He is the most loving and loyal dog a family could ask for…..yet there is an aroma about him that reminds me, daily, that my home is that of a pet owner. In addition (and I will not go into graphic detail), there are a myriad of smells that are emitted from our best friend – depending upon what my boys have fed him within the past 24 hours. But, again, this smell reminds me that our ever-vigilant and loving companion loves and protects my little family and helps me to keep my feet warm at night when he sleeps at the foot of my mattress and this, too, makes me very happy.

Having said all of that, I also must comment on the fact that it is Fall and, with it, brings many wonderful smells…..my Grandma Schaefer’s yummy applesauce, soup and muffins on a cool autumn night, the smell of the fallen leaves , pumpkin pie, and wood fires burning off in the distance.

And, yet, another advantage to living in “The Ice Cream Capital of the World” is that there are other smells that waft through the breezes of our little Iowa town. On a good day, you can smell the vanilla being mixed in to the ice cream as it is being produced at the South Ice Cream Plant. On other good days, you can smell the chocolate wafers being baked at BoDean’s Bakery just down the road (they make many of the cones and wafers you buy at the grocery store, eat in dip shops and find in many Blue Bunny novelties). What joy to walk in to work (our office is on top of a hill and just downwind from both of these manufacturing facilities) and breathe deep, smelling all these wonderful smells. It is much like the smell of mom baking cookies greeting you at the door when you come home from school – only outside. Wow.

Life touches us in many different ways…and sometimes in ways in which we may not even notice. How nice to know that life IS sweet…all you have to do is breathe.