The Smell
I was out walking my beautiful dog tonight when it hit me: the Smell. It’s the familiar breeze that i breathe that i have always failed to identify and yet i know it so well.
as far as i am concerned, southern California has two seasons, warm and cold. the summer is unforgivably hot to the point where even taking further steps towards being naked with the fan on is not enough to escape the heat. the winter is a cold that only feels comfortable to those who live on the beach.
in between this two-season system i have created for myself is the simple transitionary phase where the weather is in flux. and the beginning of this phase starts with the Smell. i can never remember when it hits me, because it can only be measured by the consistency of the weather following it. save for writing it down like i am now i have always forgotten when and where i was when i experienced the Smell but it happens every time. and tonight was the summer Smell. it’s not a sensory mix i can describe in a usual way either. i never know what it is in reality, whether it’s blooming flowers or a change in the air temperature or whatever. to me, the Smell is measured in the memory of summer’s past. when i go outside and i breathe it in i’m struck with the intense barrage of being dropped off at summer daycare and being at home and not doing anything. the Smell is freedom and the carefree attitude that just won’t quit. i’ve been out of school for just about a year now, but as long as i am young the Smell will remind me of the longing to be out of class and out late with friends. the Smell says summer is coming, but this time it won’t be the same. only time will tell what it will mean to me in the future.
