My Five Senses

Vicks Mentholatum. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I sometimes open the jar and stick my nose in for a little smell Which turns into a big smell, a little on my nose, some around my Neck, and finally I beg my husband to slather it on my back while I saturate my chest with it. This smell loves me, calms me, and nurtures me like no other. I probably spent the first ten years of my life slathered like this, It brings back memories of mother, warm cocoa, soft scarves, and books. Nothing opens my soul up faster than Native American flute music. It brings out my wolf wild side. I want to run to a cliff and howl at the moon. It takes me instantly to Sedona vacations, turquoise jewelry, kachina dolls, bringing the American Southwest into my heart, and healing the sad places. Almost everything I see delights me – shiny things, natural things, new things. But the thing that makes my heart sing the fastest is the sight of my grandchildren. Any one of them. I have ten, and it does not matter which one is coming toward me. There is a surge of happiness that leaps through me in a boundless joyful way that cannot be described. It is a craziness that must be lived and felt. Beans will be the death of me. My favorite tastes all include beans. It is a toss-up which one I like the most – jalapeno peppers stirred in refried beans, barbequed beans, kidney beans, pork and beans, and ham and beans. I salivate when I think of any of these. It is a spontaneous reaction that I have never been able to quell. When I was a child we ate lots of beans, so maybe that is where this is coming from. I have no idea. But I know these are my favorite meals. I am a cheap date. What do I not like to touch? The list is tiny. I am a tactile learner. To teach me, you have to let me grab it, shake it, spin it, toss it, catch it, and rub it. I touch wallpaper, woodwork, and metal file cabinets in offices. I touch ants, rocks, flowers, grasses. I hug trees. I hug people. I am a professional toucher. Possibly my favorite touch is warm, sudsy bath water after a trying day. I immerse myself, washing off sadness and disappointment, thinking of the Vicks Mentholatum which I will slather on when I get out. Written: July 27, 2018 Entered: My 5 Senses Contest Sponsor: Viv Wigley