The other day while preparing to face the hot sun I covered myself with sunscreen. I had a generic brand, but just that smell of the lotion took me back to childhood and summer. I remembered Coppertone in the signature brown bottle. That day as I was working in the garden I made a mental list of other smells that did the same. Of course, you were either a Coppertone girl, a Sea and Ski girl, or you bravely put iodine in baby oil and slathered your body with that. Forget covering up, skin cancer, or sunburns. It was all just part of the summer ritual. (It was much later that the unforgettable smell of coconut and Hawaiian Tropic came on the scene.)When I get anywhere near a pool I am back at the Kellogg public pool. The distinct chlorine smell reminds me of green mesh bags, suits that never quite lost that smell, hours of hanging out, pruny hands from staying in the water so long, and a beach towel soaked in chlorine that lingered while riding home on your bike.
I return to my Grandma Woolum's yard when I smell dill. Whether it was when I ran my hands over the maturing dill growing in the garden, or going to her cellar where it was drying it is a smell that is reminiscent of fresh cucumbers, Mason jars, and making dill pickles in August.
The pungent smell of campfire smoke reminds me singing songs around the campfire at Camp Neewahlu, roasting marshmallows with friends at Rose Lake, and gatherings up the river when we were old enough to drive and stay out later. Days later I could pick up a jacket or a shirt and the campfire scent would still be there.
When we had hot spells while growing up all I wanted to do is sit in the basement or go swimming. Then the skies clouded up and a summer rainstorm moved in. Summer rain smell is so distinct it is almost hard to put into words. You just know that smell. It is a mixture of wet pine needles, dampened dust, or rain dripping on maple leaves. Where I live now clouds gather above the lake and the air carries that smell of thunder and heat mixed with lilies and phlox. It is the smell of reprieve and a gentle reminder that autumn is just around the corner.
What smells take you back to childhood summers?