I sense something missing

DS-7 finally had a chance to play with his friend yesterday and they had a splendid time. His mother and I are both scrapers (I am much more enthusiastic than his mother is, but then again, I am much more enthusiastic than most people). So we set up a photo shoot the second we had the kids together in the same room. I caught some great photos and I am sharing them here.

I have recently lost my sense of smell ~ recently being a relative term, because I’m not exactly sure when it happened. I noticed it in November when I was lighting scented candles and everyone remarked how nice the house smelled. I couldn’t smell it.

I asked the dentist if it could be related to the work he has done on my teeth and he said it wasn’t likely. He also recommended I talk to my doctor about it. This now has me wondering what terrible disease or ailment I might have.
But that’s not the point. This loss of my sense of smell (unlike my ability to smell, because I am sure I still stink mightily, I just don’t know it anymore) has left me to ponder all of my senses.

My sister was born with nerve deafness. She can hear somewhat with the use of a hearing aid, but there are many sounds she simply misses. There are so many sounds offering comfort to my life, I can’t imagine being without them. So I have been thinking about my top favorite sounds:
~ A purring cat
~ A train whistle cutting through the night
~ My washing machine and dish washer going about the business of doing my work
~ The hum of the furnace fan kicking in, banishing the cold
~ A crackling fire
~ My children talking, laughing and playing together
~ My husband’s heartbeat
~ The cry of a newborn baby
~ Crickets or frogs on a warm summer’s night
~ The click, pop fizzzzz of a can of pop being opened and poured into a glass
~ Being told “I love you.”

My photo a day challenge has also made me more aware of the world around me, as I see things I might not otherwise notice.
I am now seeing details, lines, patterns, shadows, and reflections in the world around me.
When I was a child I never understood why my Mother was so stressed about all the work she had to do. Most of it was self-imposed chores like laundry and weeding the garden. But now I know what it is like to have so many things that need doing and so many things you want to do you just don’t know where to start.
It is almost impossible to keep up with the demands. I must make stew for the church party, take the children to the dentist, mopping the bathroom floor (it probably stinks, even though I can’t smell it) and do research on long term effects of Settlement Canyon pollution on our water. I forget to notice the sound of robins singing in spring and the daffodils trying to poke their heads up through snow.
Sometimes I wonder how long I went without the sense of smell before I noticed it was missing. How sad it is I didn’t appreciate it until it was gone.


Happy birthday (yesterday) ReNae.
I tried to call but you didn’t answer your phone. I talked to mom this morning and she said you have been having problems with your phone.
I’m going to make you a card and layout like I did for Lisa. It won’t be the same card and layout, of course, but I’ll post it when I get it done and bring it up with me at Easter.