Don't you just love the smell of freshly sharpened pencils?

Over the last few days, I have been working in my Art Journal where the pages I am working on are currently serving as a coloring book. Whenever I am in the mood to color colored pencils are my medium of choice. I love to color for a number of reasons, I love the rich color of the medium and I also love that it gets me into that Zen like state quicker than anything else. Anyway, to get into those tight little detailed spaces, I have been sharpening my colored pencils like crazy and for the past few mornings when I walk into my craft room I am hit with a wonderful smell of freshly sharpened pencils.

Hopefully this is relatable, but for me, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils reminds me of going back to school where in every classroom there was a pencil sharpener mounted to the wall that I frequently used (can’t stand dull points). This smell also makes me want to watch one of my favorite movies, You’ve Got Mail because it reminds me of one of my favorite dialogs from the movie.  The scene is an email conversation between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s characters that takes place at the beginning of the movie.  They are having a “secret / anonymous” online relationship and Tom’s character, NY152 emails to Meg’s character, Shopgirl (their online handles) about how New York in the fall makes him want to buy school supplies and that if he knew her real name and address, he would send her a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils.

I love this movie on so many levels, and I love this dialog because I totally get the reference. I have many sensory triggers about fall and going back to school myself. Like the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, the smell of books and more subtle triggers like the sun angles at the beginning of September. Sometimes I get so caught up from these triggers that I want to run out and buy school supplies, new clothes and shoes just for the heck of it.

On an emotional level, I am reminded by these sensory triggers and what I see as the subtle message in You’ve Got Mail is more about how remembrances provide us an important emotional connection to the past and can even serve as a bridge to our future. Acknowledging honor and what is true in memories that for some, is sadness or longing and for others is comfort.

If you would like to share what triggers memories for you, I would love to hear them. Or if you know the movie and want to share your favorite scene or dialog that would be great too.

For me, I think I will continue to find things to color for a while and let myself get filled up with my memories.