The Stink of Fresh Air

Back in the day I loved to throw open the windows and let the breeze pass through, bringing all the freshness and wonder of the outdoors in with it. It was great after a long frozen Minnesota winter or a hot humid summer to finally open things up and feel the changing of the seasons. It was a relief, it felt like a fresh start. It was energizing.

Throwing those windows open is no longer the great experience it used to be. The main reason, the great outdoors stink - literally smells bad. Now I can't actually smell the air (unless someone is creating a smell by smoking or whatever) but the "fresh" air seems to make everything it touches smell bad. Whenever we take our dog for a walk or run errands we return stinking. It's in our hair and in our clothes. Eventually the stink wears off but I don't care to smell that way every time I go outside.

I'm the kind of person who always has a glass of water by my side but for some reason whenever the windows are open the water will quickly take on the smell of wet dog making it undrinkable. Then if they stay open long enough I feel like that same stink will attach to my hair and clothes the way it does when I actually go outside.

What is going on? What happened to the magical freshness of the outdoors? I haven't enjoyed fresh air since leaving Minnesota - is it the location, living in a big metro area instead of a small city? Is it my migraines that have made me more sensitive to smells that have always been in the air?

Whatever happened, the days of throwing the windows open and experiencing all that wonderment are long gone. Our windows remain closed and, most of the time, the shades are drawn too. At least I have the vivid memories of what it was like back in the day. Memories, that I can call up any time I want.