feeling nostalgic

*not my photo. Taken from a yahoo image search....since I can't find any orange blossoms around here to get a photo of! LOL!*

This past week I have been feeling nostalgic. It could be really really craving Mexican food, or the goodie box my mom sent that had See's candy in it, seeing the Cincinnati Reds on TV playing at a field in Goodyear with AZ sun and fans in shorts and tshirts already, or even maybe watching Policewomen of Maricopa County on TLC. (Yes, more reality TV. Don't judge me!) and recognizing the overhead shots of Phoenix or seeing the 101, etc and places I've been through a million times.

I mentioned this to my friend Lisa, who was talking about the rain that Phoenix had the other day. Oh that smell of the desert after a rain. It is almost tangible. It is a good smell. Then she was saying that the orange blossoms would be in bloom soon and that I'd REALLY be jealous then! (Enjoy that week of Spring Lisa because you know summer hits you in about two more! Haha! So there!) (I'm allowed to joke...I grew up there. 20 + years.)

I was telling her how the smell of orange blossoms brought back a FLOOD of memories. I remember when I was a kid and we lived in Ahwatukee. It used to be out in the middle of nowhere and we had to drive to Tempe to go grocery shopping. (Smitty's! That is a whole other post of memories and smells!) The best thing about it was that I can remember so many nights of driving (well...my mom was driving until I was old enough to myself) down Elliot or Warner road, 2 lanes, not a lot of streetlights....and driving by all of the groves of orange trees. I would stick my arm out the window and surf the air with my hand, almost to cup the smell of the orange blossoms in it to take home with me. That smell makes me feel like a kid again.



I loved that even during the hot summers, no matter how hot the day was if you were on those same roads coming back from a swim meet or something, as you passed all of the cotton or corn fields the temperature would drop to where it was almost chilly while you passed them. This sounds like we lived in the boonies, which we really didn't....but at the time there was still a lot of farm land around. I always enjoyed that. Which is probably part of my obsession with the farms here.


Anyway.....I just wanted to get this down while I was thinking of it. A good memory of growing up.