Comfort Smells - Eden Moon

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When I think about smell, and the smells that mean something to me, two immediately come to mind.

Even to this day, my mother has an unmistakable smell that makes me feel completely at ease. She works for a software company and had to travel a lot when I was little. Once I was old enough, she would sometimes take me with her.

But whenever she was gone for more than a few days, she smelled different when she came home. One of the first times she went away that I can actually remember was a trip to California. She left at about one in the morning, and I begged her to wake me up so I could say bye. I cried as I waved through our glass door and watched her car leave my driveway. When she came back, her hair was straight, and she was wearing a green cashmere sweater; she looked beautiful. But all I could do was cry, out of relief, yes, but also because she didn’t smell right. She smelled like a mixture of her normal scent mixed with something that screamed hotel.



The other scent that immediately comes to mind is my cat. Right between her shoulder blades is a scent that I somehow know completely, even though I could never explain what it actually smells like. As I write this, I can almost smell it, but I can’t find the words to write it.



 I think that's what makes smell so strange and personal. You can recognize a scent, attach an entire feeling or memory to it, and know exactly what it means to you without ever being able to describe it. Its like your own world that no one else can touch.

Eden Moon

Comments

  1. Jonathan Brumberg-KrausOctober 6, 2026 at 10:24 AM

    I marvel at your sensitivity to changes in smells, like your mother's. Is that more of a blessing or a curse for you?

    ReplyDelete

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