The Teleporter

May 27, 2008 - 7 Comments by Mishelle - Secret Agent Mama

My nose teleported me today! Sometimes songs can do it, or a particular light setting, or a taste; the senses are truly a marvel. It all took place when I was taking pictures of a Magnolia, late this morning. For weeks I have been stalking the great tree, waiting patiently to see the first bloom, trying to find the perfect one to capture. Today, I found that tree, and instantly I was sent back to a specific moment. Oddly enough, I had a similar haircut back then, wore glasses, and was about the same weight. Could these things plus my olfactory system facilitate the transportation?

The smell has taken over my space here at the kitchen table now. I peeled four petals from a dying blossom so that I could enjoy the smell and remember my times in New Orleans. It stands out, in my life, as one of the most liberating, interesting, care-free time of my life. We worked enough to get by and we enjoyed ourselves frequently.

I have a million memories–or so it seems–that I can recant. Like meeting Michael’s best friend, David, for the first time, listening to his other friend, Kyle, play the drums on our pots and pans, hosting various friends from Buffalo, sleeping well into the afternoon, eating at our favorite restaurants (eating!), driving around exploring the city, etc., etc., etc…. Solid, awesome memories.

Then there’s the tree. That big Magnolia Tree in our front yard. I may have taken it a bit for granted, actually. I had a whole Magnolia Tree in our front yard. A. Whole. Magnolia. Tree. In. Our. Front. Yard. That smell, though, I could never take for granted. That sweet scent that will forever bring me back to a time of youth and splendor, a time before I became a mother, a time where who I was to become was formulating, a time that lives on within me through my memories.

Day 277

The sense of smell can be extraordinarily evocative, bringing back pictures as sharp as photographs of scenes that had left the conscious mind.
—Thalassa Cruso, To Everything There is a Season, 1973