Over the last few months I’ve posted here and there about fragrance. Spark notes - my son has had very itchy skin and eczema for the last year and a half, and removing fragrance from our home has been one of the many things we’ve done to try to alleviate his itchiness. To be honest I’ve been shocked at how much I’ve appreciate the air being less perfumed and polluted, and did not expect to actually like my house better without fragrance.
But at the same time, I loveee fragrance.
The stories. The bottles. The smells. The ingredients behind the scent stories. The memories.
All that to say maybe the amount of fragrance in my life has made it too much of a good thing. We’re not there yet as my sons still extremely itchy, but I hope someday to find a balance of savoring sweet fragrances in a few times and places without creating a full on fragrance soup again.
Fragrance is not the only space that has felt like too much of a good thing. In basically purging many areas of our life over the last serval months, I’ve felt the unbalance in our food (sugar, gluten, dairy), in our screens (probably too much TV but not todays problem to tackle), my scrolling (deleted Instagram and Facebook a few months ago and although I miss the few friend updates sprinkled in I don’t miss the inundated information overload; going to stick to Christmas cards for my favorite yearly updates if we aren’t touching base otherwise), online shopping vs a few fun trips through the year, our stuff and our schedule overall. There is so much good stuff, that I almost feel like I’m drowning in it and unable to enjoy the beauty each thing provides.
A fragrance is sweet. A treat is sweet. Watching a family movie snuggled on the couch is sweet. Seeing a friend from another season of life pop up on a Christmas card is oh so sweet. Shopping with my mom and finding a fun fringe jacket I hadn’t already researched and stalked on social media is sweet. Time is precious and sweet. The overabundance is something I am so thankful for, but realizing I maybe need to slow down and savor more to rest in the beauty God has created.
This started with an intent to make a short blog post about fragrance to stay consistent in posting and has since turned into a rant. I've been looking into Henry Rose perfume and am intrigued and slightly drooling reading all of the descriptions. Thinking about someday adding in a perfume or two for special occasions sure sounds sweet. And the anticipation and thinking about it is also oddly comforting.
I’d never in a million years think I’d put all my fragrances in the garage, but I also can’t imagine bringing anything back in right now that could be an irritant when my son’s skin isn’t healed. In all that though, being flexible to each season of life feels so much better than being rigid.
Here’s to too much of a good thing being realized, praying for wisdom in my thoughts and actions, and trusting God with the outcome.
xx
Aubree