www.natalielindsaysarah.blogspot.com

Lindsay, Sarah...our blog is amazing. Honestly. I'm so proud of us! This began only last month, and we already have over ninety posts. Apparently, we have lots of things to say about life, and I think that writing about things, and reading about them later on, helps us to learn even more, or about things that we didn't even know we knew. But enough about that, I had something that I wanted to write about...

The play! Not the new play, but last year's musical, "Hello, Dolly!" The cause of so much, really. I was smelling my old perfume bottle (Estee Lauder "Beyond Paradise,") and it's such a memory triggered scent! It brings back everything about the play -- memories of the stage lights, and my horrid costume, and my lines, and the people...and rehearsals, and changing costumes for Act II, and absolutely everything about that time. There are so many scents that trigger memories in my brain. The Cucumber Melon smell from Bath and Body Works reminds me of that summer that my cousin Kristen and I flew down to Atlanta to visit my aunt and uncle. The only other things that remind me of that summer are the movie "Center Stage" and Mandy Moore's song, "I want to be with you." The scent of Lovespell from Victoria's Secret reminds me of cheer camp freshman year, and the beginning of high school. Then there's a scent that reminds me of my first date with John, but I don't know what it is. Sometimes I catch a strand of it somewhere, but it never lingers long enough to be detected. The smell of "Lily of the Valley," the good kind, not the kind from Crabtree and Evelyn which smells too ultra-sweet, reminds me of the end of 8th grade, and of the chlorinish smell of hot tubs (*grins*). Tommy Girl reminds me of 7th grade, and of best friends, and of loss. I'm sure that everyone really wanted to know about what scents remind me of what, but when you think about it, scents play an extremely important role in the memory process. I think that scents trigger the vividness of memories, and not only their vague feel. Scents can take you back to the moment directly.

Well, I'm off, I believe. Girl's night tomorrow! Excellent! We're going to see Wimbledon, I believe, and doing other stuff. We are not, however, going to go to sleep at all. I suppose I must make up for my lack of slumber tonight. No one call me before noon. (Smiles sweetly) Good night world!

YNatalieY