An unexpected gift...
Smells! How mysterious is it that certain smells can conjure up a memory from the past.
After a long day of not too pleasant things happening in my life, I dropped my sister off at her apartment and noticed the gas gauge on my vehicle was on empty. It was getting late, my knee hurt, I wanted to get home to my refuge. I was thinking about my family situations and one problem after another which drove me to crave a pecan, cherry ice cream in a waffle cone for comfort. I was close to Braum’s and no matter how I wrestled my steering wheel to go left, it turned right towards Braum’s, taking this already overweight body to get some comfort.
As I was licking my ice cream cone and feeling, by the way, much better, I looked at the stinking gas gauge again and it was hovering right above EMPTY. I ate the ice cream faster than I wanted to so I could get out in the 90 degree heat and pump some gas into my whining vehicle that would refuse to run without it.
I ate the last bite of this delicious morsel, and hauled my self out of the van. I put my charge card in the slot, and the nozzle into my gas tank and waited while it ticked away my money.
While standing there waiting I drew in a deep breath of the night air. I closed my eyes. I could smell a mix of gasoline and dirt. I was back at my grandparents’ store, 7 years old, lightening bugs all around me. Listening to the crickets sing, my whole life was in front of me. This gas and dirt smell was a delicious smell to a child who was so loved by her grandparents, who always felt so safe and restful while being there for 2 weeks every summer.
All my gut wrenching troubles lifted and I didn’t want to stop this beautiful feeling, but suddenly the gas pump came to a halt. The precious restful haven moment in time was gone.
After a long day of not too pleasant things happening in my life, I dropped my sister off at her apartment and noticed the gas gauge on my vehicle was on empty. It was getting late, my knee hurt, I wanted to get home to my refuge. I was thinking about my family situations and one problem after another which drove me to crave a pecan, cherry ice cream in a waffle cone for comfort. I was close to Braum’s and no matter how I wrestled my steering wheel to go left, it turned right towards Braum’s, taking this already overweight body to get some comfort.
As I was licking my ice cream cone and feeling, by the way, much better, I looked at the stinking gas gauge again and it was hovering right above EMPTY. I ate the ice cream faster than I wanted to so I could get out in the 90 degree heat and pump some gas into my whining vehicle that would refuse to run without it.
I ate the last bite of this delicious morsel, and hauled my self out of the van. I put my charge card in the slot, and the nozzle into my gas tank and waited while it ticked away my money.
While standing there waiting I drew in a deep breath of the night air. I closed my eyes. I could smell a mix of gasoline and dirt. I was back at my grandparents’ store, 7 years old, lightening bugs all around me. Listening to the crickets sing, my whole life was in front of me. This gas and dirt smell was a delicious smell to a child who was so loved by her grandparents, who always felt so safe and restful while being there for 2 weeks every summer.
All my gut wrenching troubles lifted and I didn’t want to stop this beautiful feeling, but suddenly the gas pump came to a halt. The precious restful haven moment in time was gone.
posted by Sasebone at
7:29 AM
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