The Smells That Bring Back Memories

I was just sitting here at my boyfriend's computer doing my homework.  He is trying to sleep and my computer is in the bedroom...the clicking of the keyboard would keep him up and he has to get up early.  About 45 minutes ago, I decided to make some tea.  I have my fancy Keurig and purchased Sleepy Time Tea yesterday.  10pm on a school night most definitely calls for some of this yummy tea!

I make my cup and add just a tiny bit of sugar and set back to work.  After letting it cool for a few minutes, I pick up my cup, breathe in the wonderful aroma and I am instantly taken back 22 years to being an 8 year old little girl sitting in the kitchen of my oma.

Why is that so special?

I am so glad that you asked that!  So my oma was my great grandmother on my mom's side.  My grandma was born and raised in Germany and that is where she met my grandpa.  Anyway, so my oma was actually my grandma's step mom.  Her birth mother died when she was a very small girl and my oma pretty much raised my grandma.  When I was 8 and my sisters were 6 and 2, my mom and grandma took us to Germany to meet and stay with my oma for vacation.

We got to meet family that we never knew existed and have not spoken with or to since seeing them.  A lot of my memories of that vacation come from pictures and the stories that we tell but the ones that I remember most took place in the kitchen.  Watching Oma make soup for dinner and my grandma telling us about when she had my uncle, he was so tiny, they could not keep him warm so they kept him in the oven (door open, of course) in the  kitchen.  We only knew our uncle as the big guy he was at the time and could not imagine him being so small that he would fit in there.

Every night that we were there, my oma would make us Sleepy Time tea.  We had never had it and with the small sprinkle of sugar that Oma added, we fell in love with it.  I have been drinking it ever since then!

So I am ready for bed, now that I am all toasty warm from my tea.  Plus my wonderful boyfriend is waiting for me!

Tell me...what smell brings back a fond memory for you?  Leave it in the comments!!!

Until next time!

UBC Day 11 - Comfort and Love

I admit it...my short term memory SUCKS!  Seriously!  I can remember how I got every major scar on my body (and I have quite a few) but I cannot tell you what I did last week.

Example:  I fuel airplanes and helicopters.  I work at a flight school so I am dealing with small aircraft...Cessna 152s and 172s.  I am accident prone.  I run into things constantly!  I smack my elbows, knees, hips, shins and ALWAYS my head!  I can remember cleaning the inside of one of our planes and smacked my head three times in less than five minutes...the same spot on the airplane and the same spot on my head.  Anyway, my friend said that I should be wrapped in bubble wrap.  He asked me if I had injured myself that particular day.  I said that I could remember smacking my head climbing into the fuel truck...but I could not remember if it had happened that day or the day before.

When asked about my childhood, there are three items I always mention.

1. Corky
2. Super Bear
3. My Blankie

Corky was my favorite toy as a child.  He was a doll dressed in purple and white...maybe pink.  When I really strain to try and remember I lose it...but I definitely remember the purple.  I lost Corky when I was eight years old.  My mom told me to not to bring him because I might lose him but I could not leave the country and not take him with me!  I am just really glad that she put her foot down and made me leave my blankie at home.  When I was eight, my mom and grandma took my sisters and me to Germany to meet my great grandma and meet some other family members.  I left Corky on the plane.  We called the airline and no one returned it.  Someone picked it up and took it home and some other child grew up with my Corky.

When I was five, my babysitter Laurie gave my sister and me each a teddy bear.  I still have mine.  I call him Super Bear.  I slept with him every night until I left for boot camp...and trust me...I am not lying when I say that I was terrified...not about going to boot camp but trying to fall asleep without my teddy bear!

Super Bear and me

Yeah...I still sleep with my teddy bear...SO WHAT?!  He is much better to cuddle with...because he does not move...or snore...and makes a GREAT pillow!

Last but not least is my blankie...I would totally snap a picture of it but my mom packed it in a box and told me that I am not allowed to use it anymore because it was going to fall apart...my grandma made it for me when I was a baby.  On one side, there are bunnies and butterflies...very faded and no where near at bright colors as they used to be.  They look more like very light pastel colors.  On the other side it has some stick figure drawings, pictures and the alphabet (fun little side note...taught myself the ABCs backwards...and learned that you cannot sing the ABCs backwards using the same tune forwards...it just does not work...no matter how many times you try...trust me...I have logged possibly double digit hours trying to get it to work...and it does not...ever).

These items bring me comfort and remind me how much I am loved.  We all have items from our childhood that bring us comfort and security.  What is your "security blanket"?  Tell me!  I would love to read about it!

Until next time!

Picture Challenge Day 5

A picture of your favorite memory.

I have a ton of favorite memories to be honest but this was the first ones to come to mind.  I loved my Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine.  For my 21st birthday, my mom got me 21 items.  A lot of them were individually wrapped things like a pair of socks or a wash cloth but she got me a sno-cone machine.  She tried to find a Snoopy one for me but could not.  I just might try!

Until next time!

Day 13: What's Your Earliest Memory?

After much debating with a cognitive psych major who firmly believes that there is absolutely no way I could possibly have this memory, I know that I do.  She believes that you cannot remember anything before the age of like 4 but I do.  I only have snippets of memories.

The earliest memory I have was when I was almost a year and a half.  My mom was in the hospital after giving birth to my sister.  I was born May 1984 and she was born October 1986.  My memory is holding my dad's hand walking down the hallway of a hospital.  It is a very short memory but I still remember it.  There is not a picture of it.  This is not a story that has been told over and over again.