Smelling Young

When we visited my daughter during the holidays, we slept in my 8-year-old grandson’s room. He came in one morning and crawled in bed next to my husband.

“I smell something,” he announced.

“What does it smell like,” I asked.

“It smells like oldness.”

We laughed about it for awhile, but then I began wondering, what does “oldness” smell like? Is it the musty odor of an antique book pulled from the shelf at an estate sale? The stale, starchy scent of heirloom linens unfolded from a trunk in the attic? The sharp, acidic aroma of a rusting watering can forgotten in the far corner of the garden?

A canine’s sense of smell could help diagnose disease, but can our age be determined by the way we smell? We color our hair to cover the grey, undergo facelifts to remove wrinkles, and exercise regularly to retain a youthful figure, so it’s discouraging to think our scent will give us away.

When I was in my twenties and early thirties, I wore the fragrance “Youth Dew” by Estee Lauder. Apparently this scent, despite its name, is suited to grandmothers, not adolescents. At least it’s a consolation that Madonna wears it. But wait, Madonna turned 50 last year! Somehow I doubt anyone ever tells her she smells of oldness.