Ooh ooh that smell

I am afflicted with allergies. As a boy I had a perpetual runny nose, watery eyes and cough. As a young man I had hives when I mowed and then sneezed the night through. As I get older I have less severe reactions. I get watery eyes, and sneeze a lot (nearly always in groups of three). I only occasionally have a runny nose, usually in the morning. I get occasional headaches and migraines, but nothing like I had in my late twenties and early thirties (ever had a headache so bad you puke?). I still get an occasional whopper of a migraine, but things are better now. Unfortunately I have passed my allergies to my kids, especially the daughter. Love you kids -- how about a hyper active immune system?

Anyway to my point. I spent a significant amount of my life not able to smell anything, except maybe in January, when I was outside. As my allergies have receded, I now smell things I never could until a few years ago, and often I feel as if my nose is being assaulted. As I type this, the scent of the wife's anniversary roses are almost overpowering, I can smell them from the next room. The bananas ripening on the cabinet mingle with the odor of my coffee. With every sip I get a whiff of the orange juice in the glass.

I know this is normal for most of you. To be honest, some days I long for a stuffed up nose and my Grandpa's never-ending refrain; "Joe, get a Kleenex".