This little bronze girl was perched unexpectedly on a bench downtown. Flowers AND sculpture. Cool.
My friend Naomi asked if I would like to join her in a milkshake outing yesterday.
What a silly question. I was out the door, firmly planted in her car's passenger seat with seat belt clicked into place within seconds of hanging up the phone.
Later as we were sipping our shakes and strolling around a quaint little shopping center, I noticed a wonderful peony bush loaded with blossoms. And after I returned home I hoofed it out to my backyard peonies, hoping that they too would be heavy with sweet scented flowers.
They were.
I plucked an armful and brought them into the house, walking carefully since I had shoved my entire face into the bouquet.
Mmmmm. There's no scent like real peonies warm from the sunshine.
Aren't they beautiful? So soft and fluffy and HUGE this year.
Even though I had been inhaling so deeply that I could have had sucked several large flowers right into the depths of my lungs, (the scent of peonies is ALMOST worth the risk of an aspiration pneumonia) after that first intoxicating burst of peony scent, the quality of the flowers' perfume just kind of.....faded.
How disappointing. But unfortunately, this also was expected. My sniffer just isn't up to par ever since Sjogren's syndrome found it's way into this body of mine. You can read more about diminished or absent sense of smell related to Sjogren's syndrome here and here.
I hate this. Even though I sniff vigorously and repeatedly, the first hit of scent is always the most potent, and subsequent inhalations only deliver a muted and strangely changed fragrance. I feel as though I know that I am smelling something....I can detect a sweetness and heaviness that should also be accompanied by that wonderful floral bouquet but isn't. It's just weird.
I suppose that I'm fortunate to get to experience that first burst of scent at all.
Has Sjogren's affected your sense of smell?
5 comments:
Absolutely! ...and therefore my sense of taste as well.
Not missing a few greenflies in the garden after all that deep inhallation are you? :)
yes, my sense of smell is now a bit skewed...every time my husband opens a packet of powdered vitamin C I think I smell old cigarette smoke like he's been in a car with a smoker or something...it took me awhile to make the connection & realize that he wasn't being dishonest...but my nose sure was! I also can't stand the smell of maple syrup because I think it smells like cat urine...ewwwww...the good news is that it's made me not want to eat pancakes anymore :)
Mine has actually gone the opposite way. My sense of smell is hyper sensitive. My hearing as well. This is usually at the onset of a flare.
I'm sorry that you can't smell your beauties. They sure are perfect to look at though!
I lost my sense of smell suddenly about 8 years prior to being diagnosed. At the time I thought a sinus cold had been the culprit.Like many things in hindsight it all makes sense.
I miss the smell of lilac and lily of the valley, I can still get a light whiff but also not with the intensity I once did.
Post a Comment