The smell of memories...

Have you ever smelled something and been immediately reminded of another time and place? I think this probably happens more as we get older. It probably also happens more when we are nostalgic. Regardless, I got into my car last night to run to the store and the smell hit me. I think it was a combo of the smell and the temperature and the stillness of the night. It reminded me of family vacations of old. By family I mean my mom and I. Every summer she would wake me at 4:30 in the morning and we would hop into our old minivan and hit the road for my Nana's house in Ohio. She would take the middle seat out on the van and create a little bed for me to sleep on. It would always be the perfect mix of cool and breezy outside. It would smell like dew and sleepiness and I would love it.

Mom and I were driving machines. We would blast oldies and dance and drive and drive and drive. Ohio was not our final stop, nor was Buffalo, NY (where her best friend Rebecca lived). These were just stops along the way. We would drive until we got all the way to our cottage in Canada. It was there that we would finally rest and put our feet up and enjoy our secluded family hideaway. This was my reality for every summer until I graduated high school. We would pick up co-captains along the journey. My Nana, my cousin Nancy, my great aunt Nellie, but mom and I were the constant travelers. Driving partners for life.

When I visit mom she still asks if we can take off on a drive together. If we can get in the car and just go. There is promise in the open road and the smell of dew and sleepiness. Mom and I are on journeys of our own now. I hope that at the end there will be a place that we can both put up our feet and rest.