Memory and Senses

According to the scientific community, the sense of smell is the sense most strongly linked to memory. Is that true for you? For me, the strongest link is hearing. Certain songs whisk me away in the blink of an eye. Taste will produce a few memories, but sight and touch, not so much. At least, not until a recent visit to my Grandmother’s old home.

It’s been over forty years since Dad’s mother sold the house he grew up in. The first buyer sold it and the new owner moved it sixteen miles away. Not far, yet I’d never seen it.

The owner happened to be outside the day my parents and I drove by. We stopped to talk, and before long, he’d invited us inside. A thoughtful gesture, since, other than being the right size, this house didn’t look like Grandmother’s.

The Doors

We entered through the back door, stepping into a beautiful kitchen, larger and laid out differently than Grandmother’s. So different, I didn’t think it was the same room. Then I saw it—the swinging door that led into the dining room. It oriented me. I stepped through it and was instantly transported back in time.

I saw the room as it had been most Sundays in my youth—family and friends gathered around the table enjoying a meal.

The same double-glass doors still hung in the opening between the dining room and the den, where my grandmother had taught me piano. As we toured the rest of the house, I had two more strong visual memories. One was a phone cubby built into the hall wall. (Remember when homes had only one phone?) The other was the pantry door in the kitchen.

Don’t ask me why most of my memories were triggered by these doors. Whatever the reason, it was appropriate since when I stepped through them, I passed from one place to another, both literally and figuratively.

Use Your Senses

So, if you don’t have the time or money for a vacation, don’t worry. Play some “oldies,” light a scented candle, or look at a photo album. Traveling back into your past costs only the use of your senses.