"OH THAT SMELL!"

The first time I smelled it, it was sinewy, gaggy, take your breath away and a million other adjectives. Literally, I couldn’t breathe for that specific smell permeated me and I could feel an asthma attack coming on. The only thing I could do was to get as far away from it as I could and that was impossible for I was teaching and had a classroom full of students. Remember asking a student to go out in the hall and see if she knew what the smell was and where it was coming from. Within minutes, she came back in and said “It’s vanilla and I think it’s from a candle or someone sprayed it.” “Where?” I asked her. “I think it’s in the office” she said.

Asked my co-teacher to watch my students for a minute while I scurried down the hall towards the office and yep, the smell was definitely coming from there!! The closer I got, the worse it was. Forced myself to go in and the smell was so strong it would have knocked anyone over and there sat the secretary with a small vanilla votive candle on her desk. Mustered up my courage and asked her if she would mind to put it out [really I guess others loved it] because it was choking me all the way down the hall. She graciously put the candle out; I was never so grateful in my life!

Some smells just really get to me and after that experience, vanilla is at the top of the list. It’s not the same smell as vanilla in a bottle—that’s completely different to me. All of my friends know how I hate vanilla scented candles or anything but I forgot to tell my sons. And what would I receive this past Christmas? A huge vanilla scented candle from one of my sons.  Didn’t know at the time that it was specifically that but later upon looking at the label, I saw that word—VANILLA. And I gave it away. What other choice did I have? With things you either like them or not and it’s a definite not like on my part. Please pass on the vanilla candles to someone else. Oh and by the way, they are always white and cleverly disguised for other scented candles can be white as well. Watch out!

Sherry Hill