There aren’t many areas of my life that are unaffected by my health, and the holidays are no exception. I’ll never lose that feeling of nostalgia when Christmas songs start playing on the radio, and the lights on our Christmas tree will always make me smile, but there are other aspects of the holidays that are drastically different this year as a direct result of my health. Smell, taste, and travel are three of the main ones.
Smell:
As I’ve mentioned before, I started to lose my sense of smell about six months ago and have yet to regain it. On a typical day, I don’t think much about this, and there are even some unexpected benefits (e.g. public bathrooms don’t bother me nearly as much anymore). Lately, however, I’ve been realizing how many smells I associate with the holidays and how much I miss them. The warm, cozy feelings evoked by the pine scented candles, hot apple cider, freshly cut Christmas trees, and warm cookies in the oven are lost on me. For now, I’m trying to live vicariously through others’ enjoyment of these smells, such as when Zack comes home to me cooking and tells me the house smells great. Cooking without smell, however, presents an unexpected danger: I need Zack and our smoke alarm to make sure I don’t burn down the house!
Taste:
Eating with your nose plugged is a great strategy if you need to take some nasty-tasting medicine (something I’m very familiar with), but not such a good one if you’d like to savor your aunt’s homemade Danish pastry, which just thinking about makes me salivate. Eating without smell is basically the same thing. This Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’m missing out on the deliciousness of apple pie, mashed potatoes, peanut butter pie (my mom’s specialty and my FAVORITE), and spinach souffle (another odd but delectable family favorite), to name a few. Without taste, I’m all about texture. The upside? I’ll probably be eating much healthier than usual over the holidays, since fatty, greasy, and sugary foods are usually enjoyed for their flavor, not their texture. Which means that while everyone’s enjoying dessert, I’ll be going back for seconds on the green beans. OH yeah.
Travel:
For the past decade or so, my family has made an annual trek to Elko, NV to meet my mom’s sister and family from Wyoming for Thanksgiving. We stay in a hotel and heat up our Thanksgiving feast in microwaves, a bizarre yet awesome tradition for which you’d have to be there to appreciate. This year, however, the 13 hour each way road trip didn’t seem like the best idea for someone dealing with nausea and, at times, frequent bathroom trips. So instead, my aunt, uncle, and cousin are coming here for Christmas :). Our ability to visit Zack’s family in Virginia is also restricted by the fact that my weakened immune system makes it extremely risky to fly on a plane, and somehow a 3000 mile winter road trip doesn’t sound like my idea of a fun way to spend Christmas. Since we won’t be seeing them over the holidays, we’ll spend more time connecting over the phone and valuing the time we do see them that much more.
They say that when you lose one sense, your other senses are heightened. I think that missing out on certain aspects of the holidays makes me appreciate other, perhaps more important ones, more.
Smell:
As I’ve mentioned before, I started to lose my sense of smell about six months ago and have yet to regain it. On a typical day, I don’t think much about this, and there are even some unexpected benefits (e.g. public bathrooms don’t bother me nearly as much anymore). Lately, however, I’ve been realizing how many smells I associate with the holidays and how much I miss them. The warm, cozy feelings evoked by the pine scented candles, hot apple cider, freshly cut Christmas trees, and warm cookies in the oven are lost on me. For now, I’m trying to live vicariously through others’ enjoyment of these smells, such as when Zack comes home to me cooking and tells me the house smells great. Cooking without smell, however, presents an unexpected danger: I need Zack and our smoke alarm to make sure I don’t burn down the house!
Taste:
Eating with your nose plugged is a great strategy if you need to take some nasty-tasting medicine (something I’m very familiar with), but not such a good one if you’d like to savor your aunt’s homemade Danish pastry, which just thinking about makes me salivate. Eating without smell is basically the same thing. This Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’m missing out on the deliciousness of apple pie, mashed potatoes, peanut butter pie (my mom’s specialty and my FAVORITE), and spinach souffle (another odd but delectable family favorite), to name a few. Without taste, I’m all about texture. The upside? I’ll probably be eating much healthier than usual over the holidays, since fatty, greasy, and sugary foods are usually enjoyed for their flavor, not their texture. Which means that while everyone’s enjoying dessert, I’ll be going back for seconds on the green beans. OH yeah.
Travel:
For the past decade or so, my family has made an annual trek to Elko, NV to meet my mom’s sister and family from Wyoming for Thanksgiving. We stay in a hotel and heat up our Thanksgiving feast in microwaves, a bizarre yet awesome tradition for which you’d have to be there to appreciate. This year, however, the 13 hour each way road trip didn’t seem like the best idea for someone dealing with nausea and, at times, frequent bathroom trips. So instead, my aunt, uncle, and cousin are coming here for Christmas :). Our ability to visit Zack’s family in Virginia is also restricted by the fact that my weakened immune system makes it extremely risky to fly on a plane, and somehow a 3000 mile winter road trip doesn’t sound like my idea of a fun way to spend Christmas. Since we won’t be seeing them over the holidays, we’ll spend more time connecting over the phone and valuing the time we do see them that much more.
They say that when you lose one sense, your other senses are heightened. I think that missing out on certain aspects of the holidays makes me appreciate other, perhaps more important ones, more.
Kinda hard to explain Elko to folks, isn't it?! I think our first trip to meet you guys was actually 16 years ago!!!!!! Unbelievable. For this year, though, sure looking forward to coming there! Thankful to have time with you ANYWHERE. Whether we smell anything or not :)
ReplyDeleteI love you...Aunt Holly
Yes, it is hard to explain ;). Makes sense, considering half the things we do/say there end up in the "inside joke" category anyway. Can't wait to see you soon!
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