The Life That Is Mine

I have long known that smell is our strongest sense in relation to memory. It is quite amazing actually, the thoughts and feelings that one particular smell can conjure up. They can be great, awful, and anywhere in between.
Yesterday, I returned home from a busy, stressful day at work to a particular smell that, almost eerily, sent warm chills throughout my body. It felt like electricity running through my body as the fine hairs on my arms stood straight up. My mom had spent the early portion of the day making Italian sauce and meatballs from scratch the way my grandma (her mother) used to. Immediately upon walking in the door from the cold weather outside, I felt warm...at ease...happy...relaxed.
It smelled like Grandma's. It smelled like it used to smell every Sunday when I was a child. This is no ordinary Italian meal smell either. It is one that I can not explain in words but one that I grew to know and love many years ago. And it is extremely particular to Grandma...Even though my mom prepares her wonderful sauce and meatballs quite often, she doesn't always get it juuuuust like Grandma (since Grandma grew up cooking in Italy and never used or wrote down recipes. She just knew. So although momma's cooking always smells great...today it was different...it was Grandma...exactly.
I wanted to grab a pillow and just curl up on the kitchen floor...and surely could have due to the fact that I was indescribably comfortable as I absorbed myself in that smell and its memories. It was a comfort so overwhelming and peaceful that I felt that I could have walked on fiery nails and not even noticed.
The smell flooded my mind with wonderful childhood memories from Grandma's house. I wanted to be blanketed in that smell and just lay by Grandma and watch our shows...Wheel of Fortune, Cash Explosion, and our favorite...Golden Girls :)
I am so thankful for my sense of smell. I miss my childhood and I miss my grandma so very much...that it is fantastically pleasant to, once in a while...and often unexpectedly, be whisked back into those days, memories, and feelings....even if only for a moment.