2005-04-06 - 11:53 a.m.
I have something akin to a moment of peace.
My wife and her mother and the bride-to-be are all out doing pre-wedding stuff, my father-in-law and brother-in-law are out at Home Depot or some such place, my daughter is down for a nap and my son and I are sitting at the dining room table.
He talks incessantly - I can't imagine where he gets that.
Now that I have this moment I feel all mentally constipated. The words just don't want to come out, like I ate mass quantities of mental-government-cheese and I need a serious brain laxative to get the thoughts flowing.
The scents in the front yard got my memories flowing. Music and smells are my two most powerful thought provokers. The sound of a song can take me back to a specific second in my childhood and even invoke the feelings I felt at that moment. Smells work a little different - they bring about less visual memories, usually sparking an emotional ambiance.
What does it for you?
I felt my childhood in California this morning, as I smelt a combination of scents that seem unique to this part of the country. A flood of feelings associated with outdoor play washed over me and I longed for the freedom of my childhood for just a moment. I was trying to get my son to play independently, which isn't his strong suit, when it happened. I was digging roads in the dirt with my foot, trying to encourage him to build and create.
I think that's what I'm missing right now - the freedom to be as creative and carefree as a child.
I wish my son understood what his future will bring - he'd use every moment as if it were his last.
I wish I understood...
