I smell boys

Tonight we walked in the door from our vacation and my two older boys and I headed down the street for 6pm church. At church we do the sign of peace. At the sign of peace I always kiss my boys on the head. I often inhale their "boy smell." Sometimes I grin, but other times I am just reminded that they need showers before bed. Tonight I smelled clorine. The smell of summer. Summer means I don't have to beg them to shower every night, because at least every other night the swimming pool counts as bathing. Then I got home from church to find my 2-yr-old a grubby mess from having played in the sand, eaten something sticky, and just pooped his pants. A mixture of interesting scents right there. I picked up my 4-yr-old at the end of an evening of riding bikes and jumping on the trampoline and his hair was all sweaty and stuck together. And so as I carried him home from the neighbors, his head just below my chin, I smelled all the fun he had this evening. After I bathed and washed everybody's hair, I laid down with Ben (4) and Elaina (6) and began reading books. Mr. Bike-rider, Trampoline Guy snuggled in with his wet, clean head right below my chin once more, and I got the sweet wiff of clean, cozy, ready for a long, safe night's sleep. Some people, me included at times, will make a sour face and complain of that "boy smell" that kids get from playing outside etc. But tonight, I just want to document and try to remember all their scents, because before I know it, they will all be too tall for me to reach the tops of their heads to smell!