This is a question that I ask too often. The emphasis is sometimes on different words. For example:
What is that smell?
What is that smell?
What is that smell?
Sometimes it is asked rhetorically. I already know that someone stepped in dog poo, I just want them to look. Or I already know that Maggie is removing nail polish within the confines of a moving vehicle and want her to be aware that the odors are strong.
Other times, I really don't know. This usually occurs when we walk into the house after a long absence. I walk thru the door and WHAM! - "What is that? Can anybody else smell that?" Once it was an unflushed toilet... after three days. Another time, an open garbage can with old grease and diapers in it.
Sometimes, it's not a question. More an exclamation - UGH! That smells! Sweaty feet in leather sandals. Man armpits after hard manual labor. Morning breath. An onion that fell behind the dog food container and started to rot.
My personal favorite is when a child says, "Momma, smell this." And they totally KNOW that the smell is vile. They just want verification or explanation. Like spoiled milk or bad bologna. I'm intensely wary of anything one of my kids puts under my nose.
Sometimes, I ask with fear in my heart. Why do I smell Super Glue? or Why does it smell like melted plastic? - Thus, "What is that smell?" This is usually followed by the more forceful, "Who did this?"
It is a rare pleasure to walk into a room and ask "What is that smell?" because the smell is pleasant. Very rare. Why does the bathroom smell... clean? Whose perfume do I smell... faintly and not like it's been bathed in? Who bathed... without being forced at gunpoint? Do I smell coffee?
When Ty was four, his favorite song for a few weeks was Lynard Skynard's That Smell. Personally, I hate that song. Chris thought it was hilarious. "Can you smell that smell?..."
Anyways, just a rambling post about my life. Sometimes it's lovely and pleasant. Sometimes overpowering and intense. Sometimes stinky and gross. But rarely ever bland.
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8 comments:
what?! are you saying that my house stinks?! yeah, okay, it does. :-) i live with 3 males. i sooooo do not want to know what that smell is!
My bathroom rarely doesn't smell like urine. Ah, to be the only woman in a house full of men... Oh wait, I am.
yes, here too, 2 human males and 3 male cats. it was an adjustment to live with a boy when brian and i first got married. i remember my brother asking me how was married life about 3 months after we wed. i replied, "boys are gross." now i have a smell for you to imagine...picture this...a full diaper genie that has been sitting in a closed bedroom for over a week. nice.
I have to have a bathroom that I only share with the husband. Sharing a bathroom with little boys is impossible. They think they should stand up but I am not sure this is the best choice.
Poor girls. Ya'll are outnumbered by males! At least Crissy and I kept it even! But it still doesn't stop the smell. Maybe it lessens it a little. Is boy tee tee just stronger than girls??
I just have to say that that was a very funny post and made me laugh. Who cares if anybody elses bathroom smells? The point is, you are a funny girl!
hahahaha, cracking up at this post! just wondering, what started this ramble...
kinda makes you wonder what the sharp house is smelling like right now, huh?! glad i'm not there to know.
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