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This post is sponsored by Social Moms and Seventh Generation.
Have you ever noticed that certain scents from nature bring back childhood memories? Most memories of specific scents come from the first time we smell something, which is usually when we were children. I can think of quite a few scents that trigger incredible childhood memories, however nothing transports me back to my childhood like the smell of the ocean.
The Smell of the Ocean
I spent the majority of my childhood in the lovely city of Madison, Wisconsin. If you take a look at a map you will quickly notice that Wisconsin isn’t anywhere near an ocean. There are many beautiful lakes and other bodies of water in and around Madison, but getting to an ocean is a long trek.
The ocean was still a big part of my childhood. To this day the smell of the salt water and ocean air takes me to a very special place where I spent almost every vacation as a child.
Here are a few clues to help you guess where I was vacationing all those years:
- It was H-O-T and humid, making my hair do all sorts of funny things the minute I stepped off the plane.
- Restaurants opened for dinner at 4:30 and the lines started forming around 3:30 (and we were usually in them).
- Shuffleboard was our afternoon activity. Relatives were hopeful I’d meet that special someone on the shuffleboard court or laying by the pool (didn’t happen).
- When the vacation ended I was very tan (there was a lot of baby oil and very little sunscreen being applied).
If you guessed FLORIDA you were right on. I was very fortunate to spend almost every vacation with my grandparents on the east coast of Florida. The smell of that salty, thick air brings back incredible memories of the time we spent together. It was a happy time-a time when my grandparents could spoil me rotten and share stories about coming to America.
The smell of the ocean makes me feel safe and relaxed and reminds me of the many years I spent with my grandparents. I live closer to the ocean now and each trip to the beach is a trip down memory lane. As the smell of the air hits I am reminded of the fabulous times I shared with all four of my grandparents.
Seventh Generation knows that scents are powerful. That’s why Seventh Generation has created a line of dish liquids [2] featuring natural scents from real lemons, clementines and lavender. To celebrate their new line of dish liquids Seventh Generation is offering a giveaway: you can enter to win a trip for two to one of the regions where lemons, clementines and lavender grow, including France, Italy and Vermont!
What are some scents from nature you love, and where do those scents take you?
Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Seventh Generation blogging program and I was compensated for this post. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
[Photo used under Creative Commons from epSos.de/Flickr]