My name is NOT Raquel!

I had training with Chanel all day yesterday in a pretty nice hotel downtown...the trainer started out the day calling me "Rachel" and then went through some weird switch and started calling me "Raquel" for the rest of the day. I didn't correct him, maybe I should have...in a room of about 50 women, I felt a little awkward calling out the only man in the room on his grammatically impaired memory. Besides, he was trying SO hard to throw anecdotes in that would imply he wasn't gay, when all of us surely knew better. Being Raquel for a few hours wasn't so bad, but it was the hour plus drive home in rush hour that was very bad. Denver has only TWO highways---one that goes north and south (I-25) and one that goes east and west (C-470/I-70)....CRAZY. This is not a small cowboy podunk town as many might believe, and the traffic is horrendous. At least in Minnesota you have many choices about which route you want to take to arrive at your destination.

I already knew this, but was re-reminded yesterday that Chanel No.5 is 80 years old and is still the #1 selling fragrance in the world--140 Million dollars a year worldwide. When I smell it, I think of my grandmother, but not in a bad way. I think of femininity, class, and another era, which is all sort of comforting. I wore it yesterday on my wrist and by the end of the day I decided that I loved it, which was surprising because over the past 3 years working for Chanel on and off I have never really felt that way. All the people in my life that are important have a certain smell...."a signature scent". Dan's is sort of sweet and yet musky--his own skin smell is yummier than any cologne he could wear. Eli's is very little boy-ish, sometimes he smells like wet dog and other times like fresh soap from his nightly bath. Eva smells like urine a lot--which I know sounds gross, but I like it! It's just that her diapers get so full so fast that sometimes the odor sort of envelops her and she smells like baby pee. She smells really distinctive. When I nurse her, I often bend down to smell her face because I want to remember just how sweet it is, and often I think she smells like the best vanilla ice cream in the world. Fresh vanilla, cream, and sugar...and I want to lick her! The animal kingdom is full of "lickers", and yet we kiss and do not "taste" those around us (and, no, this has no sexual connotations whatsoever). I often want to immerse myself in those I love so that I can taste them as distinctly as I do my breakfast of eggs and toast, or even better, my favorite--a quality piece of chocolate melting in my mouth.

I think the power of smell and scent is often under-stressed in my life, and today, I am going to make an effort to "smell" with heightened awareness.