The sense of smell is a very powerful memory trigger. There is science behind it, the olfactory part of the brain is connected to the emotional part of the brain. Did I just sound like a scientist there?

I love to walk past my tomato plants and my basil plants because the scent reminds me that I am on summer vacation. Likewise, chlorine in a pool and sunscreen have the same effect on my brain. I also have always loved the smell of garages, gasoline type smell. We used to hang out a lot when I was little at the Sinclair station that my grandma and grandpa owned and my dad worked.

The other day Troy and I were walking through the pasture at his mom's farm and he was talking about the smells of just walking there reminding him of when he was young.

You know what smells trigger the best memories for me? The ones that remind me of when Troy and I were first together.

Some are the same as the ones he was talking about on the farm. But not from when I was growing up. All the smells of the outdoors are good for me because they remind me of when we were first together.

 Everything that I love about the outdoors today is because of him.

He is the person who brought about my desire to travel to places like Machu Picchu, which we will be doing one week from today. And all the other places where we have experienced awesome outdoor spaces, such as the Grand Canyon, Colorado mountains, Utah Canyons, New Mexico, Arizona, South Dakota, Kentucky, Slovenia, Scotland........We have been so many places together.

These pictures are all from our wedding album and show us (individually) back in the beginning.

If I am adventurous at all where the outdoors and nature are concerned, it is because of my relationship with him. It's fascinating how our relationships shape us into the people we eventually become.