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scent

Happy Solstice!

Solstice (also known as Yule) is the shortest day of the year, normally occurring on the twenty-first or twenty-second of December. The Earth is at perigee, which means that it is closest to the Sun.

So why is it cold?

Ahh, the wonders of the cosmos. grin

It is the day of the rebirth of the Sun. The days will begin to get longer again, and the Sun King will return. The rebirth of the Sun King and the birth of Jesus were blurred long ago to form Christmas, but many pagan trappings still form an important part of this holiday. Evergreen plants, such as mistletoe, holly and pine are still used today. Saturnalia, a Roman holiday, gave us gift giving and caroling.

Of course, fundamentalist Christians all vigorously refute this. But I've read their arguments, most of which are circular at best. Oh well.

I am DONE with my Christmas shopping. (Mostly.) I braved the mall tonight and made some last-minute purchases. Got some crappy little gifts for the other office denizens, made some final decisions about other things, and marched out with my bags held high.

I had parked by one of the "anchor" department stores at the mall. On my way out, I passed through the smelly section. You know, that part of the store where they sell all the perfume and other smelly stuff, and scent snipers lay in waiting around every corner.

Most of the time I hold my breath walking through this section. The scents do sort of bother me, and if I inhale a lot I start coughing. But I was so happy that I'd finished shopping (almost) that I forgot and walked through breathing normally.

It was a real melange of scents. Some fruity, some musky, most annoying. I can't believe that people actually pay money to smell like this stuff.

Tangent: I hate it when people have been wearing the same scent for years and years, and they've developed a "resistance" to it. So when they put it on they can't smell it, so they put on more until they can smell it. However, for everyone else the scent is totally overwhelming, and it smells like they took a bath in the stuff.

Anyway. I was most of the way through the section, almost to the elevator, when I passed through an area that caught my attention. It was a familiar smell. Very familiar. It wasn't quite... right, but it was close enough that I "recognized" it immediately.

It smelled like Dave.

Whenever he shaves, he puts on this cologne/aftershave/whatever. I have no idea what it is. I might have even asked him about it, and he denied wearing anything. Maybe it's the smell of his shaving cream or something. I can't remember.

All I know is that suddenly I wasn't in the mall anymore. I was with Dave, in his arms, with my face pressed against his neck. His face was slightly damp. His arms were around me and I could smell him.

I've read that our sense of smell is closely related to our long-term memory. That's why some people think of their mom when they smell bread baking, or think of an ex-boyfriend whenever they smell leather. (Leather JACKET you sickos!)

The thought of Dave was so suddenly triggered by this scent I think I tripped. I floated out of the store in a daze, not recovering until I was most of the way home. I realized I had been crying.

Sometimes I wonder if I do love Dave. Do I even know what love is? What's the difference between really liking someone and actually being in love with them? But instances like this make me realize that I do love him. A lot. Just a scent that reminded me of him brought me to tears... No one else has ever had that effect on me.

Nine days until I see him again.

Looking Up

______ of the Day

Spinning

That "T" guy's The Nutcracker Suite

Go Somewhere