Lavender

As I sit at my ordinarily cramped desk in my ordinarily cramped dorm I stress over my chem
homework. The familiar pain kneads the back of my neck like dough reminding me I have been cooped
up to long. It’s almost as if my body is calling upon my mind to get up and leave. I suppress the
frustration, lean over and click the button on my small aroma sphere. The thick steam immediately
comes out of the oil diffuser and dances around the room like an early morning fog. When I lean back
and let my muscles relax, my mind slips into a day dream. It’s the Lavender. To me the sent of lavender
reminds me of with my family, specifically my mother.

My mother kneeling next to me in the itchy grass with a shovel and garden gloves, the colorful
flowers on her rubber hands tainted by the dirt. My three sibilings are playing tag, their childish laughter
bouncing between the overlapping branches of the trees leaning over us. The smell of dad’s burgers on
the grill fights the overwhelming aroma of lavender. My mom’s favorite flower. She smiles at me. A true
smile, not yet touched by the melancholy moments of chemo or the hospital bills. She rambles on about
the strong color, rich sent, and happy feelings that lavender plants offer the world. As I help her plant
them, the cool dirt eases the warmth the sun left on my skin.

When I was a little older and responsibilities kidnapped me from my childhood, I can remember
stressing over my homework. My mom would sat at the table with me and her dark afternoon coffee.
Looking into her mug was like staring into a black mirror, reflecting back at you with tired eyes and the
strong sent of foldgers. She would get her little lavender febreeze bottle and paint the air. “Lavender
helps calm you down, quit being so grumpy” She would say to which I would respond by throwing my
eyes to the back of my head. I remember the old wooden chair creaking beneath me as I pulled away
from the table. Still, despite my preteen pride I would close my eyes and breath in the floral aroma,
slowly releasing it back into the air. A wave of relief would flood from my nose down to my toes, similar
to the feeling of when your back meets the mattress after a long day. Mom was right, as she always is,
the sent of lavender calls to the calmest parts of a persons soul.

Back to reality I open my eyes to the horror of my chemistry text book and sigh. The tiny brick
rectangle that is my dorm room now smells like home and I feel more relaxed. My phone hums my
mom’s vibrate pattern and I reach over smiling at her text. It’s hard being away from home. I felt like the
yarn that ties me to my family has been severed. But little things like my lavender oil draw me back
home and make me feel sound.