I Finally Get to Eat My Suntan Lotion

Got your attention didn't I.

Once upon a time, before we were all warned about the dangers of slathering ourselves with baby oil, cooking oil, and all other sorts of oil in the search for the St. Tropaz bronze and brown tan, I couldn't wait for April and May to come around so I could trot down to the corner drug store and purchase my summer supply of Coppertone, Bain de Soleil, and Hawaiian Tropic.

Even in snowy Northern Michigan, there was nothing like opening a bottle a of sun tan lotion to make you believe it was the middle of July again and you weren't being blinded by the sun on the snow but the sun on the sand and lake. I especially loved Hawaiian Tropic because it smelled so fantastic, with its blend of coconut and pineapple smells. It was like taking a pina colada and smearing it all over yourself. It smelled so good, it made you hungry.

Now, every time I smell a pina colada or the combination of coconut and pineapple, I am instantly transported back to the summer of 1978, with the music from the soundtrack from Grease playing over the transistor radio at the end of the dock, and my first serious boyfriend Billy sitting next to me rubbing sun tan oil on my back. He had a powder blue 1975 Chevelle and it still amazes me to this day that my parents even let him date me let alone sit alone on the dock with me. But I digress...

Today at lunch, while I caught up on the past three weeks of "unimportant" email I had been ignoring, I opened a container of Dannon Light & Fit Pineapple Coconut yogurt. Instantly, I was not trapped in my office, a slave to my computer and my job but rather I was a carefree fifteen again and the only thing I was responsible for was making sure my room was clean and my homework was done. For just a few minutes, the weight of adulthood wasn't on my shoulders any more.

Who says you can't be fifteen again.

What food smells bring back childhood/teenage memories for you?