The smell of....

Palmolive, takes me back to Monkey's early days when he was admitted to the Children's Hospital for jaundice.(If you missed the blog post about this, you can find it here.)

Recently at work, someone brought in this dish soap for all to use.  It's the old school Palmolive as well, the dark green liquid in the tall slender bottle.  The big version of the little tiny bottle they gave me at the hospital.  My milk had just started coming in when he was admitted, and because his levels were so high I had to nurse him them pump, show the nurse how much I pumped and then bottle fed him the breastmilk.  This created a lot of dishes, if you will.  So the nurse brought me a little tiny bottle of Palmolive and a dish bin, and after each pumping session I had to go into our bathroom and wash the pump parts.  

And now, every time at work, when I wash my dishes I think back to those early days.  I can recall the fear, anxiety and worry Husband and I experienced.  I can see Monkey laying in the little isolete with the blue lights on and his special sunglasses.  I remember how much he fussed and cried in there, how all he wanted to do was be held and all we wanted to do was hold him.  I can see our little bathroom in the hospital, bad lighting and all.  I can see myself washing the dishes in the sink, worried that something bigger was wrong.  Every time I was alone, in the bathroom washing away, I would think about all of the other parents out there who were struggling with bigger problems with their kids, and my heart ached for them while at the same time marveling at the strength of friends of mine who had been through these struggles. 

It's funny, how a smell can bring you back like that.  Do you have any memories triggered like this?  Please share.