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| Creating art is a messy process! |
Of all his senses, Ben’s sense of smell is perhaps the most keen. He tunes into scents and odors that would barely register with the rest of us. Ben is constantly asking, “What’s that smell like?” This happens several times a day, often at the most inopportune moments, like when we are standing in line at Target behind a heavily perfumed woman. His also has a habit of sniffing everything and everyone, from the flower growing on the sidewalk to that before-mentioned perfumed woman in line.
A few weeks ago, Ben started asking the question every morning during breakfast in the kitchen. “What’s that smell like?” For the first couple of days, I’d reply, “I don’t smell anything. It’s probably just the dogs.” It is, after all, summer, and our hounds love to lounge around outside in the hot sun all day. After the third day, however, I began to detect an odor, too. I checked in the refrigerator, but I didn’t see any suspicious products, so I went about my day without another thought.
On the fifth day, I decided to do a deeper investigation. Ben was perched in his chair at the kitchen table, deeply immersed in an art project. A huge pile of Ben’s Pre-K papers sat in a messy stack next to him, a visual reminder for me to start his memory book. Mixed in the precarious pile were art projects from the year, school assignments, and a few stray photos of Ben and his classmates. I made a mental note to start the process of sorting through those papers later that day. I’m forever putting off these sorts of tasks, as I’m not very crafty and am often too busy for projects of this sort.
So, when Ben asked, “What’s that smell like?” yet again, this time I agreed it was time to find out....
