It takes me back

I've just been thinking of this lately, maybe because it's happening quite often to me lately......

It's amazing what our senses can do for us. I think it is most amazing that a scent or a song or something we feel, taste or see can whirl us back in time in an instant to a specific place and time in our own life History. It's awesome how powerful our senses really can be, especially when it comes to our memories.

I was actually watching a PBS special on this phenomenon, how the part of our brain that holds our long term memory is very responsive or connected to our senses. It was all very scientific, which was over my head but it was really interesting to watch. I know, I'm a nerd, but I find these sort of programs very interesting and entertaining.
Any way...

Do you ever have those experiences?

You know where you get a whiff of a certain smell and all of a sudden your back in High School remembering your old high school buddies.

OR

You hear a certain song and every time you hear that song you think of a certain person or a place in time in your past.

I love it when this happens to me. Usually it's a good memory, and so this is why I love it.

I have these flash back experiences often. C and will talk about them with each other and I find it interesting how many we as humans actually have. We are so connected to our senses, it's amazing.

For example: (some of these are weird I know...)

Jergen's Lotion= I instantly go back to my gymnastic days. That must have been the lotion we all used to lather up before our meets. Also Rice cakes= I think of gymnastics on the road. I remember eating these a lot while traveling with my team.

Cat Stevens (any of his top songs)= I think of my honeymoon. We drove down the Oregon Coast and on the road we listened to a CD of Cat Steven's Greatest Hits I don't know how many times through, but every time I hear Cat Stevens I think of that fun exciting new phase in my life.

Cigarette smoke & Popcorn= This one is weird I know. But when I get a very slight smell of these smells, I instantly flash back to my Dad's job. I know this sounds weird but let me explain. My Dad owns a Kettle Corn business where he has multiple booths at Fairs and other shows all over the West. He works the big shows and has other employees go out to all the others he can't be at....So we'd visit him often (some times go on the road with him) to local fair grounds when he was working a job and of course there were tons of people, many who were smoking. For some reason when I get just that tiny whiff of those smells, smoke and/or Pop Corn, I think of fun memories getting into fairs for free and spending time with my Dad.

Chlorine= Takes me back to my younger years in AZ. Every summer while we lived there, we took swimming lessons and much of our summers were spent at local pools. It's HOT there in the summer so there wasn't a whole lot else to do besides spend it in water. I LOVED swimming lessons, I even remember having a crush on one of my swimming teachers one year (who I am sure was in high school at the time but he seemed so old, and he was so cute!)

I have so many more examples of my senses taking me back in time.

Do you have these? I'm sure you do.

What are some of your favorites or what are some really weird ones? This could be interesting.....