Just for the smell of it

We have a new question for the Blogger's Blog Tour: What’s your favourite smell in the world and why?

Feel free to post your own answer in the comment box, and let me know what you think of mine.

I was born without the ability to breath through my nose. My adenoids were enlarged and blocked my breathing passage. Like most babies, I took my first breath through my mouth. Unlike most children, I kept breathing through my mouth until I was 7 years old and a doctor removed my adenoids (along with my tonsils).

The impact of not being able to breath through my nose for my formative years was quite profound. My family would comment on the wonderful smell of bread baking or the scent of the roasted turkey in the oven. I would be unable to comment. I used to try and inhale scent through my mouth. It never worked, and made me the butt of some particularly cruel taunts and pranks at school.

Mealtimes were especially bad for me; each time I took a bite and chewed I felt like I was suffocating. My parents taught me to take smaller bites so I could chew with my mouth closed, but to this day I chew as rapidly as possible due the need to get food out of my mouth. I also have to watch myself so that I don't inadvertently open my mouth.

After the surgery, a whole new world was opened for me. I could smell my grandmother cooking, and she made a mean bread pudding. For the first time, I became hungry at the smell of food. I also discovered why it's a good idea to sometimes let the bathroom air out once someone has been in there a long time.

What’s my favorite smell? Everything.

The answer is odd because, while there are certainly scents that I do not like, deep inside me lurks the little girl who did not care that the dog poo was stinky. She's just glad to be able to smell everything that the rest of the world can.