22. Sunscreen

Am I the only one who loves the smell of sunscreen?

Anyone? Anyone?

 Bueller?

I think that sometimes smells create more poignant memories than your other senses. I can smell something and associate it with an event that happened 12, maybe 14 years ago. I remember the most random things; the sweaty stench of the gym where I did gymnastics when I was six, and the chemical smell of the cleaner used at the school I went to when I was ten. Now whenever catch a scent, it brings back memories, good and bad.

For me, the memories associated with sunscreen are almost exclusively positive. The pungent, coconutty aroma reminds me of sweltering road trips and sandy beaches; of building forts in the woods that surrounded our house; of our hands stained crimson from picking pound upon pound of dusty raspberries to make into jam; of the endless, pleasantly uneventful days.

In short, sunscreen reminds me of everything that makes summer so great.

2. Kyrie

Kyrie Eleison...
For some, this song evokes a religious significance, for others the embarraasing memory of bad eighties clothes and good eighties music.
For me, it symbolizes freedom- although not through religious redemption or teenage rebellion.
Last summer, my sister, dad, and I took a road trip down to California. We were planning on taking the long route down to Berkley for a unicycle convention, and meet my mom there a few days later. So we meandered down through the Oregon Coast, stopping at what seemed to be every cheesey tourist attraction possible. My dad spent long hours recounting how he had taken a similar trip with some school friends when he was in his twenties, and kept rambeling on about how much everything had changed. In a desperate attempt to survive the aurderous journey, my sister and I turned to music. Being two years older, she had total control over the playlist, and she was going through an eighties phase at the time. So for three days I was trapped in a sweltering car, listening to Guns and Roses, Queen, and the uplifting voice of Kenny Loggins. And amazingly, after a day or two,  a strange thing happened- I actually started to like it...
We stopped at the seal caves in Oregon and admired the great seqouias' that crowded almost onto the road in California, but with a little Mr. Mister stuck in my head, I wasn't bored any more. So whenever I am feeling bored and depressed in the dead of winter, I listen to this song and it reminds me of the amazing time I had in California last summer.
And hey, at least it was before her John Mayer phase....