Smell, the strongest of our senses tied to memory – and I couldn’t agree more.
Today, I walked into a room here at my office, and I smelled something that I can only describe as “Easter”. And, being the strongest sense tied to memory, it brought a wave of childhood memories back. I can only describe this smell as when you open a bag of Kraft multi-colored marshmallows. It smells like sugar and Spring at the same time.
When I was a little girl, as is tradition in many homes, the Easter Bunny dropped by and left a basket of sweets and small toys for my brothers and I on Easter Sunday. I remember waiting with such anticipation for Sunday morning to come so I could see what this magical member of the Leporidae family left for me.
For so many years, I would awaken and breathe in the smells of Sunday breakfast cooking; one great American tradition that lived on in my house. The delightful aroma of bacon, scrambled eggs, toast and pancakes lured me from the land of dreaming. I raced down the stairs and into the living room, and found the omnipotent Easter Bunny had left a basket. As a child, I thought this was the most amazing thing in the world. Somehow, this bunny got into the house, arranged baskets, and escaped before anybody realized he was there. How did he do it?
It was at this point that my brothers and I would compare baskets and argue over which one of us got the better basket. Of course, my being a girl and them being boys, it wasn’t really an apples to apples comparison. My favorite treat of all that the bunny let me were these mini egg cartons with pieces of bubble gum shaped like eggs. To this day, for nostalgia’s sake, I still buy them at Easter time. My second favorite Easter confection is what I call “Lipstick Eggs”. To the rest of the world, they are chocolate covered malt-balls in the shape of an egg. The candy coating on the outside, once wet, rubs off on the lips. So, as a little girl, I used them as lipstick, so I could have lipstick like my mother.
Since I was raised a Southern Baptist, after breakfast and basket-comparing, we got dressed for church. As per tradition, I wore an Easter dress and sometimes a little hat. My brothers wore nice pants and sweater vests. My mom wore a dress and Vanderbilt perfume. Once at church, we’d go through our Sunday School routine and perhaps make some sort of craft, like a paper rabbit with cotton balls glued on, or color a page about Jesus. Then, it was onto the service. Being a young child, the service didn’t interest me, and I would look at the pictures in the children’s bible, or color in a book I brought with me. I remember on the walls, there were a few embroidered banners. One in particular stands out in my mind; a white banner with blue and green text that said “He is Risen!”. After worship services, we had fellowship. This is when those who chose to would go to the church basement, where there was a small kitchen and eating area and have coffee, punch, or juice with cookies or other small snacks. This was a way to build relationships with other church members. The smell of coffee will always remind me of this. The room was lit with fluorescent lights; the floor was concrete with linoleum tiles. The chairs were tan folding chairs and made of metal.
After church, we went home and changed into more comfortable clothes. Then, it was off to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Once there, we’d enjoy Easter dinner together, which everybody brought some sort of dish to share. As per tradition, we had an Easter ham, and something known to most Utahans as “funeral potatoes”. I can’t describe just how good those things are! It’s a huge part of the culture here in Utah and they get their name from the luncheon that generally follows a Mormon funeral.
At Grandma’s, after dinner, I would play with my cousins, of which there were plenty. And of course – the Easter egg hunt! All of the grandkids would be herded inside while the adults hid all the plastic eggs filled with candy. Then, they turned us loose. Now, in my family, there was a tradition of hiding a gold-colored egg that was filled with a little bit of money; everybody wanted that one! Also, every year, my grandfather passed out a chocolate Easter bunny, an apple and an orange to everybody. As soon as we got home, we would put our bunnies in the freezer and eat them throughout the week. After the egg hunt, we all started to part ways and go back home.
In summation, Easter reminds me of happy times, and whenever I smell that particular scent…it takes me all the way back to when I was a little girl in my Easter dress.
