Green Grass Observations

New York has burst right through a rainy Spring and taken on Summertime with a vengeance in the past week.  The last few days I've been really re-connecting with my little Nissan I despaired of over the long, cold, and very snowy winter, and am loving my sunroof, my cranking sound system, and my comfy leather seats.  But what I truly love about the last few days is the constant smell of freshly mowed grass. 

Since I am of the lucky group NOT to have allergies at this time of year, I feel I can take a deep sniff and just savor all the many memories that come to mind with that fresh and unique scent.

I flash back to all the times I mowed the grass as a teenager in my bathing suit and cut-offs, practically running up and down the yard, until the last row was done and I could peel off layers and dive with joy and abandon into that sweet pool of blue water.  I can feel the change from sweat dripping between my shoulder blades, to the crisp cool rush of clean water.  I can smell the grass in the background, combining with the tang of my sweat, and the chemical smell of chlorine. 

I can see my day stretched out before me, my major work done in less than an hour, and my only obligation to continue my swim and eventually clean and store the mower away.  I can hear the neighborhood kids playing outside and eventually showing up in our yard for their own swim and some games of badminton or Frisbee.  

I hear the familiar chime of the ice cream truck and the dig for change to get a nutty buddy cone or a bomb pop.  And I think about the hours and hours spent in our garage-(aka summer screen room) with a group of friends playing a summer-length game of monopoly with popcorn, soda, and tunes filling the room.

The olfactory senses are definitely more powerful to me than any others.  Sound, sights, or even touch, pale in comparison to what a strong and wonderful scent can unlock in my memories.  Tonight I can't wait to drive home again, turning off the canned air conditioning, opening the sunroof and windows and take deep deep inhaling breaths of the sweet mowed grass.