Instant time travel

Isn't it crazy how quickly a smell can take you back?

The other morning, as I was getting out of the shower and I put my face in my towel, I was instantly in Tucson, by the pool at my grandparent's house. I'd put my towel on the line to dry in the sun the day before and somehow the smell of the Canberra sun and my towel was exactly the same as the smell of the sun on the tiles in their backyard, the creosote plants in the sun (my most favorite smell of all time), their dog (an Australian Shepard) Mathilda, and that time. Made me think I should call them to say hi. Which I haven't done yet, but I will!

Then, later that day, when I was on the bus to work, I was sitting behind a woman with a fresh newspaper. As soon as she turned over one of the pages and snapped the paper open, I was in my living room at 5 in the morning, folding newspapers with my Dad, tying them with a red ribbon for Christmas on my first paper route. I took over for a guy I TOTALLY had a crush on, who was a few years older than me and whose mom was friends with my mom. The first time I 'shadowed' him on the route, which was about a 30 minute bike ride route in my neighborhood, I just remember being in awe of 'hanging' out with him outside of school! He lived around the corner from me, next to the convenience store, where, on pay collection day for the paper route, when I'd go door to door and get the check for the month, plus a little bit of cash if I was lucky, I'd go and immediately spend my tips on Tart'n'Tinys. I LOVED those things and now they only come with a candy-coated shell, which has totally ruined them, in my opinion.