Long ago California Summers

When I was little I loved going to visit Grandma and Grandpa. They lived in California and had lots of fruit trees in the back yard. Every morning we had fresh squeezed orange juice. I used to sit on their porch swing with a bowl and a bag of cherries. (The bowl was for the pits.) Grandpa used to play the boogie woogie and we would either dance or take turns sitting on his lap as he played the song and bounced his knees. In the mornings I went with Grandma and Grandpa's on their morning walks around the neighborhood. I remember there being lots of trees and it was shady but not cold. Some days we would go to the "Funny farm" (why we called it that I have no idea) but the "Funny farm" had cows and pigs and it smelled awful but I liked watching the animals. Their house was also fun because they had cable and we would watch the Disney channel (back in the days of the Mickey Mouse club) and Nickelodeon. There was also a small plastic kiddie pool in the back yard and we would run around in our bathing suits all day. There were usually lots of cousins around to play with. One of the best parts of staying with Grandma was climbing into bed with them in the mornings. And it was really cool because they had a water bed! Not just any old water bed, but one that was so high you had to climb stairs to get to it! I would snuggle in with them on Grandma's side as Grandpa tried to hide his messy "Harline hair". We would giggle and Grandma would try not to breath on me because she said she had bad breath.

This morning when I got up I got out of bed I stumbled into the bathroom looked in the mirror and was amazed at how relatively good I looked. I debated whether or not I should take a shower or attempt to just go like I was since I still had some of yesterday's make up on and my bangs were not greased down and I had some cute curls coming down out of my messy bun, and I only had work and one class and would be home relatively early. But then the thought of jumping in a warm shower overpowered my laziness and I started the water.

I jumped out of the shower shortly after a knock from my roommate indicating she wanted the bathroom, so I grabbed all the things I might possibly need out of the bathroom while she was in there. Blowdryer-check, hair cream-check, face lotion-check, round brush-check. In my room I plugged in my blowdryer and smelled something foul. I smelled my blowdryer, no, not that. I smelled the towel on my head, nope, just lovely shampoo-conditioner smell. I smelled a few more things but didn't smell it again so I went about my business. I was caught of guard when I smelled it again. It smelled vaguely familiar. I tried to pinpoint what the smell was coming from. And I couldn't quite figure out what it was that was so familiar. And then with a slightly exasperated exhale I smelled it again, and realized that that smell, that really bad smell, was my breath. I hoped I was wrong but breath tested it anyway. Running through my brain was a series of questions: Is that really coming from me? (Breath test again) Oh my gosh, it is! What, did I eat last night? (Grapenuts) Did I brush my teeth before I went to bed? (Debatable) I thought gosh, if I slept with my mouth open I bet my breath wouldn't smell so bad. The smell was slightly familiar, but distant. I tried to figure out what it was. What does this smell remind me of?

And then it hit me. I smelled like my Grandma. I have Grandma breath. I have adult breath. Where did breath like that originate? But as I extinguished the smell with my new peppermint flavored toothpaste, I thought of Grandma and the smell that will always remind me of summers spent as a little girl in California.