Essay # 3 Smell
Once Upon a December
After being away for so long Jordan Taylor way finally home. It was Christmas eve and the house was just as she and remembered as a child. The tree in the center of the living room and candles scattered throughout the house. It had been that way for the past nineteen years and in her mind it would be that way for the next hundred. Tradition in the Taylor household was stronger than anywhere else and finally after two months of recovery Jane and Ryan Taylor had all 3 of their children back at home. Eric, the middle child, was captain of his high school football team and for a seventeen year old he had the same amount of skills as a pro. Amanda was the youngest, and the cutest five year old you could ever see. Jordan was your classic “A” student and before the accident was the most involved volleyball player on the Shippensburg team.
Jordan’s Accident had nearly killed her and she would be lucky to ever walk again. It was a cold night in early October when Jordan was walking home from her latest class, and she could smell the freshly fallen leaves that had just been rained on. She loved the smell of fall and the crispy leaves flying through the air created this. Jordan had been crossing the crosswalk to her building at 9:05pm, when the next thing she saw was lights and then darkness and the smell of burning rubber killed the autumn leaves aroma. The driver had hit her doing forty five miles per hour. Jordan lay on the crosswalk cold as ice when the ambulance arrived. The driver of the ambulance and the two other emergency medical technicians put her on a stretcher and as they wheeler her in her roommate Kimberly hopped in with her. The smell of rubbing alcohol and doctors office reminded Kim of when she was a child sitting in the doctors just before a shot. But this was much more severe.
Jordan awakened to a sunny but stark white hospital room and to her surprise she was surprisingly calm. She took inventory of her body, which looked like she had fallen and slid on nails, but she though was in surprisingly good condition. She smell like old people and sterilization but that didn’t bother her. She was uncomfortable in her stiff bed and the back brace and leg cast did not help. She felt incompetent to do anything anymore. She just wanted to go back to normal but she could not even stand at this point and there was a long road ahead of her for recovery. By mid November she was progressing greatly in physical therapy and could almost even walk by herself. Thanksgiving day rolled around and although the hospitals dinner didn’t have to warm home cooked smell from home she choked it down and did not think twice about it. Her parents wanted her home by the first week in December but the doctors said it was not time to clear her yet. She gazed out her window and saw the first snowfall of the season and wished she could run and dance in it like she did as a child.
On December twenty-fourth Jordan received the best present she could have asked for. She was released from the hospital and sent home, a place she had not seen in a long time. She walked in and the mixture of pine tree and peppermint candles filled her nose. Nothing could have smelled better to her. She wished she could bottle that smell up and carry it with her at all times. There was nothing better then the Taylor household during Christmas time. She recalled the time she and Eric got stuck under the tree. Jane made Hot chocolate for all the children and the fragrance reminded Jordan of the day Amanda was born sitting in the hospital with a cup of hot chocolate to pacify her from screaming with excitement when she found out she had a new baby sister.
After talking and hanging stockings the Taylor family all settled into bed around ten that evening. They had a busy day the next day with family parties and Jordan’s home coming everyone wanted to see her. The usual presents were exchanged socks, clothing, and Advil, nothing special but Jordan received the best present from her little sister Amanda. Amanda said, “ Jord come with me, no wait stay ill bring your present to you!” After disappearing for a few minutes the little blond came bouncing back with fifteen other girls behind her. Jordan’s volleyball team had come to see her holding a brand new ball signed by all of her team mates and as the cold tears fell down Jordan’s cheeks she knew she was truly home. All her friends were there to care for her. She took the ball and hugged it tightly making the smell of the brand new leather rush to her face, and bringing back every memory of the game she had ever had. She hugged each girl individually and then as a group. She knew at that moment that home is truly where the heart is and this was where she belonged.
As this story depicts the sense of smell can have a large impact on someone and bring back memory. Smell is defined as, “to perceive the odor or scent of through the nose” (Smell 1). Smell is very powerful in that it has the ability to trigger memory. “When you smell a certain scent it feels as though you slipped back in time and that you are actually at that scene again. If it was not for the other senses of your body, you might really feel as though you are back there again” (Ito 1). Smell also impacts other senses such as taste. “”As much as 80% of what we call “taste” actually is aroma”(Schifftman 1). So as you can see smell is one of the most important senses one can have.
