Total Blindside

I have always known that smells and scents are powerful memory triggers, but this was brought home to me this last Friday.  My son is in 4-H and we were doing a community event.  As a group we were to meet at the local Assisted living facility and we were going to decorate a St. Patrick's Day cake.  Sounds fun!  Innocent! No big deal!  My son had been there before and knew where we were going which was good.  We walked in the front door to the reception desk and I was fine.  She pointed us off in the right direction and we headed that way.  As soon as we turned the corner, the smells of a care facility hit me.  They were not bad smells as it is a very well run facility, but just smells that exist in a place where people need care.  I had a hard time breathing, but from an emotional response to the hit of the odors.  I kept following my son and practiced my breathing as we went forward to the creativity activity room.  I had so not been prepared for the reality and memories the moments and the emotions that came with walking into an assisted living center that I almost couldn't cope.  I was shocked by my own reaction.  My good friend - a nurse - was not.  And we talked about it.  Once we were out of the hallway and in the activity room, I was fine.  We  had a fun time decorating cakes and visiting with the residents.  I did however  go out a different door!