Well, if you know me, you know I like analogies.
So the other day, when dinner burned and we opened the windows to let the smell out, I got excited to discover what a beautiful analogy lies within such a simple act.
Life gets smelly sometimes!
Odors come around for a variety of reasons -- and these reasons can fit into the metaphorical concepts.
Take for instance the already mentioned mistake at the stove. In this case, someone was trying to do a good thing in preparing nourishment for those they love in the home... but since that someone got distracted, the good thing all of a sudden didn't seem too appetizing, and the resulting smell had to be released. And consider that burnt stuff can't get unburnt...
How about the unpleasant odor that alerts Mom to change baby's bum-bum? Baby didn't do anything wrong. In fact, baby did just the right thing! It would be rather unhealthy for Baby to NOT produce the poop that brings the smell with it... but we go ahead and change the diaper!
When my wonderful husband wakes me in the morning with a kiss, I'm always a little embarrassed because I can sense my own morning breath. Blech! My husband assures me that he still loves me and wants to kiss me -- but I go ahead and brush my teeth anyway...
When we drove our car up the canyon, it's engine emitted an odor trying to tell us it was overheated. In this case, opening the windows wasn't enough -- we had to exit the vehicle altogether! Unfortunately, the smell indicated we were too late -- we had cracked the head gaskets and ended up replacing the entire engine. If only we had noticed the gauges and allowed them to warn us of the motor's distress!
Then there's that lovely stench when the vacuum cleaner is sucking up something that doesn't fit up the hose and you have to dismantle the whole machine to find the offending object.
Once, when I was pregnant and had the superhuman sense of smell that comes with such a condition, my mother-in-law asked me to help her sniff out a dead mouse in her bathroom! She could tell there was a rotting corpse somewhere, and I was able to help her pinpoint the exact location.
Whatever the reason for the aromas -- why they originated, what they were trying to tell us or motivate us to do -- it really is a relief that we have ways to resolve the stinkiness and get fresh air into our lives again. We all have to breathe, and we'd all rather breathe air that's at least neutral if not outright aromatic!
Sometimes it involves a little effort, like brushing teeth or unscrewing parts of the vacuum cleaner. Sometimes it takes some money, like the engine. Sometimes it takes asking for the help of your pregnant daughter-in-law.
Sometimes it's as simple as opening the windows!
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