Phantom Smell

It's funny how the brain works. It's almost like we forget our house, and just about everything we owned, burned down. During casual conversations we talk about things as if they are still available for us to use and lend. For example, Aidan offered his friend Shane the next book in his favorite series, and when Shane looked perplexed he just replied "really, I have every book in all three series" and then he remembered that actually they burned. When Alyssa asked to borrow my hair dryer, I asked what was wrong with hers - duh! Burned (well melted probably) the list goes on and on, fortunately it helps us laugh because we are more surprised at our own forgetfulness than we are at the losses (for the most part).

Now, I've heard of amputees experiencing a phantom itch (an itch on a limb that is no longer there). And the examples I just mentioned seem to fit into that category - the time we spent with is far longer than the time we've spent without and our brain just needs to catch up. But I was starting to worry that I was completely losing it because I have been experiencing a phantom smell. It's the strangest thing, I had never heard of anything like it but when I take a shower, every single time, I smell smoke. It's weird. Like after you've been at a bonfire, you don't smell the smoke until you get your hair wet and then, bam! stale ash, horrible smell. A day or two of it might have seemed normal but we are going on 3 weeks here and I smell it EVERY DAY I was about ready to seek professional help.

Yesterday Mike was sniff testing a plastic item I had brought from the house I wasn't sure if it would be considered "hard plastic", and safe to keep or, "soft plastic" and toxic. (fyi I tossed it)

He sniffed it and when I reminded him that "on plastic you can't always smell the smoke".
He replied "Oh I can, (which didn't surprise me cuz he thinks he has a super sniffer) like on our shower head"
"our shower head?!"

Turns out he brought the shower head from our newly remodeled master bath here, to this house. The reason I smell smoke when I shower is that our shower head is a smokey one! So, while I may be at the station, I have not yet boarded the train to crazy town ;) ....btw did I mention our phone isn't working now, this is getting silly!