that smells good

Recently I’ve been down in Moscow visiting my parents quite a bit.  My dad has had a tough year health wise, and I’ve been helping them as much as I can.  I feel fortunate to live close enough to be able to pop down for a day.  And with my kids getting older, it makes it easier to leave them.

Although I know they are going to be just fine, it is still hard on my kids when I leave.  I’m a firm believer that all kids like structure and if we are being completely honest, dad’s aren’t the most structured people.  My husband is easily distracted and will forget about meals or bedtime if he is in the middle of a game (both the kind you watch and the kind you play).

That being said, he is one of the most involved dads I know.  He is always taking the kids on bike rides, or out back to shoot hoops.  We are all really lucky.

When I’m gone, I call the kids (and Steve) every night.  One evening while I’m talking to Luke, he suddenly stopped talking for a moment and sighed.

“Ahhhh, I can smell your hair through the phone mama.  Did you just wash your hair?”

I didn’t want to explain that you can’t smell through the phone, so I just went with it.

“Yes I did”

“It smells so good - it makes me miss you more.”

I knew exactly what he meant.  I have been hit by certain smell that immediately reminds me of a place or a person.  It can catch you off guard.  I once walked into a friend’s grandparents’ home and was immediately reduced to tears.  Something about their home smelled like my grandparents’ house and it just brought me back 20 years.

“I miss you too,” I replied to my son.

I’m glad I can help out my parents as much as I do, and I find a certain comfort in going to my childhood home.  But my home now is with my husband and kids, and it always feels great to get back home.

And most of the time it smells good too.

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