The Smell of Home

Have you ever noticed smells that remind you of something? Maybe a certain perfume that reminds you of the person who wore it or a candle that reminds you of someone's home. Well, that happened to me at work Friday as I ate my lunch. I hadn't been to the grocery store in quite a while and our cubbard was looking kind of bare. Trying to figure out something for lunch was a challenge. I decided on string cheese and left over asparagus. I also fixed four vanilla wafers with peanut butter, something I hadn't had in years! This was a standard snack at my home when I was growing up and now today as I peeled the saran wrap away it smelled just like I remember it in first grade. I don't know why I remember this so vividly but every day at snack time I would have homemade vanilla wafers or Ritz crackers with peanut butter. There would always be four of them neatly wrapped in tin foil. I was the youngest one in first grade and the smell would always make me think of home and my mama. We did not have bookbags so I would always find the snack tucked inside the pocket of my notebook. I can't remember a single time she forgot to pack it. As I relived the smell on Friday it took me back home and made me think of the loving hands of my mom. The taste is still the same. There were other teachers eating with me but only I knew that I had experienced a little piece of 1st grade and home sweet home....51 years later!