Do You Smell What I Smell?

I was going to talk about a couple of things today but I think instead that I will focus on what Christmas is like when you cant hear the sounds of Christmas. I never really knew what I was missing. I mean, for sure i could see a bell, I could see people standing in the mall dressed up like people from the pioneer days, clearly singing something but I had no idea what the bell sounded like, what they were singing or what the guy in the red suit thought was so funny that he was always laughing.

When your deaf some of the best parts of Christmas are the sights and smells of the holiday. I always enjoyed helping my parents decorate the house, I still do. There is nothing quite like hanging a wreath, some mistletoe, putting up the outdoor lights and discovering that a few had magically burned out since you last hung them, and the crowning moment, setting up the christmas tree.

When the day came for us to set up the tree, my parents always took me out to the woods to cut a real tree down. They understood the value of getting me out into the open air. Walking among the Scotch pines (my personal favourite because they smell so nice) I would breathe deeply and inhale the smell of fresh pine, cold snow, and good old clean fresh country air. It was amazing, and I loved every second of it. Dad would cut down the tree and we would eventually load it onto the car for the drive home.

Once we got home, Dad would set the tree in its stand to thaw and Mom would start baking something, anything, though usually chocolate chip cookies. It was not long before the house was full of the smell of fresh cookies, scotch pine, and coffee. It was beautiful, makes my skin crawl just typing about it.

We would gather around and begin to decorate the tree. We would sign stories with each other and just enjoy the comforts of being together.

The season would continue like this for weeks. Mom was smart, she would bake only a few things everyday so that I could enjoy many days in the house with the fragrance of fresh baking. I think she knew how important that was to me. It was all I had really, that and signing with family but to be honest, it was the smell of her baking that was most important to me.

Teh big day would eventually come and the house was full of family. The Turkey would be cooking, all the veggies, the stuffing, the sweet potatoes and my aunt's home made pumpkin pie. Christmas day was always amazing. Not because of the gifts, I do like gifts but it was being with my family that really got me excited. Still does.

Now that I can hear, when I look back on those years, I dont think I truly missed anything. I had everything I needed. In some respects I think I liked it better when I could not hear. Its funny, when I found myself able to hear I learned just how commercial Christmas really is. It was no longer about the sights and smells. Now I can hear advertising and commercials. Maybe, just maybe, I can plug my ears and find that place I was in just a little while ago. Just maybe...

Onward!