It is finally here - Fall! This morning was a rite of passage that made it so - I turned the heat on. And oh what a glorious familiar sensation that was: the smell of the burning of the years' accumulation of dust on the coils. Something so innocent can happen only once a year. And if you are paying attention, it brings back a flood of memories and feelings of warmth from years gone by.
I remember the blue duplex Ellis and I shared in Radcliff, Ky when Alex was merely a toddler, playing with him in the snow, him crawling around on the floor in the kitchen playing with pots and pans, him playing in his playpen............hey, whatever happened to the good old playpen, they are obsolete now!!!
I remember being a child in Ohio and playing in the snow for hours, then coming inside, stripping down and standing on the furnace grate to warm up along with our boots and outerwear. Mom would make us hot chocolate with real marshmallow cream in it to warm us from the inside out.
I remember years on Read Road in Kentucky, when I would have to warm the car for 15 minutes before driving to work so early in the morning. Something about living in the country made the frost "thicker". And poor Alex at his tender age of 15 would drive the kids the 2 miles to the bus stop in FogHorn LegHorn, the old Buick, having to do the same too.
Smells can bring back the strongest of memories, it has to be one of the more potent of the senses. For me this morning it was a gift from God. A crystal ball into the past of alot of fond memories. And I look forward to turning on the heat each year just for the smell.
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