throwback thursday: triggers

There are some things in life that, whenever I experience them, they take me back in time.  It's like I am immediately transported to another time in my life, just at the whiff of a particular smell or the slightest glimpse of a familiar image.  Memories come flooding back to me and I can bask in them for a few precious moments.  It's amazing how powerful our senses can be. 

Some of my favorite triggers:

The smell of coffee // my dad, brewing coffee at home when I was young.  Such a comforting, soothing smell.

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Diet Pepsi // Pops.  He drank it all the time throughout my childhood.  Sometimes I will get a DP, even though I am much prefer Coke, just so I can taste it and think of him.

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Anything Disney // my sister.  ABC Family has been playing some of the old favorites lately and I can't resist tuning in.  When we were growing up, Shelby and I would watch certain Disney movies over and over, so that we knew the entire thing by heart.  We also choreographed dances to several of the more "catchy" numbers, like this classic.  I'm sure we put Megara and the Greek goddesses to shame.

S'mores // block party bonfires in my hometown.  Every year, all of the neighborhood kids would gather at the bottom of the huge hill next to our house to watch fireworks (I think for the 4th of July?).  We would collectively "ooh" and "ahh" while we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. 

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Shania Twain // my entire middle school/high school experience.  I listened to all of her albums pretty much non-stop through my adolescent years and still love her.

 

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The Peanuts Gang // family gatherings at my grandparents' house with my cousins.  We were all obsessed with Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown and still practically have the entire thing memorized (and watch it every time we're together).  {That's it, Chuck, you're leading!}  Steve got to watch it with us for the first time after we got married, and I'm pretty sure he thought all six of us were crazy. 

 

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Both Kings Island and Cedar Point have Peanuts-themed kiddie parks within the theme park.  The Kings Island one is actually based off of Race For Your Life Charlie Brown.  I pretty much died when I saw it.  And yes, I wanted to ride all of the kiddie rides.  I'm pretty sure Pops would have wanted to, too. :)

 

Do you have any triggers that transport you back in time whenever you see/smell/taste them?  I'd love to hear about them!