The Nose Knows

I don’t know if different people have some senses which are more developed than others or if I just have such bad sinuses that I miss a lot of odors. Our 4 year old, Ellen doesn’t miss ANY.

The other morning she stepped out side, and took a deep breath. She stuck out her chest and stretched out her arms. I half expected her to announce like Robert Duvall in ‘Apocalypse Now,’ “I LOVE the smell of napalm in the morning.

In stead she mused, “MMMM, it smells like Halloween out here!” with a big grin as she marched out to the truck. Hmmm, I wondered. What the heck does Halloween smell like? Candy Corns? Chocolate, popcorn, candied apples and the inside of plastic or rubber masks? She’s only 4- how many Halloweens can she possible remember?

Naturally, I asked her what she meant.

“Mmm, cool, crisp, yummy!” was all the explanation that she gave. I suppose it has been unseasonably warm for January. There was a hint of smoke from people’s fireplaces or burn piles in the air. It was pretty dry that morning, not too humid or foggy. I guess she knew what she was smelling.

“MMMM, you smell like Gwampa” she told me one evening.

“Which Grandpa? And is that a good thing or a BAD thing?” I asked her. I have been dealing the best I can with some early arthritis lately, but I try to use odorless Aspercream or Sportscream and avoid heavy menthol rubs like Icy Hot and Absorbine Jr.

“MMM, it’s a good thing,” she assured me and nuzzled her head in my shoulder. If I remember this story right, wife Bethany explained later that I’d done something mechanical for once in my life so I probably smelled like her dad who’s always got his hands in a tractor, baler, or combine. So I took it as a good thing.

“MMMM, you breath smells like apples!” she might tell you if you’ve been drinking juice. “MMMMM, I smell like SWA-bewies!” she might announce as she blows a breath in your face after she’s brushed her teeth.

“Do I smell like STWAbewie Shortcake???” she’ll ask, sticking her head right under your nose. “I used STWAbewie Show-tcake shampoo!”

“It smells like KwisMass!” she’s announced before on snowy days.

One morning after I’d finished my shower and returned to my room to get dressed for work, she shuffled out of bed and out into the hall, rubbing her eyes and dragging her “blankie,” hair all a fright. She stopped and sniffed and noted, “MMM, it smells like DADDY out here!”

Bethany once again had to assure me that this was a good thing, and that she was just smelling the cologne I’d just put on.

THAT was a relief because just the day before Ellen had shared with me a scientific discover she’d made.

“Daddy, did you know that Soda makes you toot? That’s why grown-ups toot so much, cause they drink too much soda. Maybe you should stop drinking soda, that way you won’t toot so much!”