This is What Pink Smells Like....

In the world according to Sophia. While I rock the baby to sleep at night Sophia sits next to me in her own rocking chair putting her bear to sleep. We sit in the dark the two of us -- lost in the rhythm of the rocking and the peace of the moment.

Sophia slipped out of her chair and walked to an object on the floor. She picked it up, held it her face and told me "This is what pink smells like". I knew that she meant Francesca's bear who is named, appropriatedly enough, "Pink Bear".

Then Sophia held her own bear to her face and said "Now this is what white smells like". (Never mind that her bear, named appropriately enough, "Bear", began this life journey in pink. Too much love and too many washings rendered him "white" in her book.)

Never underestimate the power of the sense of smell. That's how you recognize a favorite toy. Laundry in the dryer. The first whiff of your home when you get there after a long day away. The comfort that radiates from a kitchen with supper in the oven. It's how you know a loved one is near.

Even when it's dark.