Nothing can bring the past to life more powerfully than my sense of smell. Any odor or combinations of odors can instantly unlock a memory that long laid dormant in my mind.

Today, it was the smell of freshly cut grass. For me, that always triggers a whole lot of childhood memories (and maybe a smidgeon of allergic reaction). I always think of summer trips to the family farm in Christiana when I had days and weeks of nothing ahead of me but sunshine and play.

I still wonder why it is that my go-to when it comes to memories is smell. Even more than seeing or hearing or touching, smell is the one guaranteed way to take me back to a moment in time. It’s almost as good as having a TARDIS on hand, because I can instantly remember all the feelings I had back then.

It’s too back that there’s not a way to have a scratch-and-sniff blog post where you could rub the screen and release the scent of flowers or bacon (or that freshly cut grass) and get the full effect.

Someone should get to work on that.

In the mean time, my one gratitude for the day is the memories I carry with me, even after some of the places and people have gone. I cherish all of them.