The Nose Knows

I have a very sensitive nose. Odors easily affect me. Once, my husband, in order to save money, bought a cheaper brand of laundry detergent and dryer sheets from Costco. I put up with it as long as possible, until I could stand it no more. I bought my favorite Tide detergent and Bounce fabric sheets at the grocery store. Boy, was I happy when I took that first load of laundry out of the dryer, all fresh and warm, and smelling so good...!

Anyway, last year was my first year teaching at the school where I currently teach. The building is very old. My wing is a separate building that houses the 5th and 6th graders. It was built in the 70s, so is newer than the rest of the school. When I walked in to the building that first time, my nose prickled. What was that smell? I thought perhaps it was just that the building had been closed up all summer, and would soon go away once school started. Foolish, foolish me...

Once the school year started, the smell became worse. Added to the funky smell was the smell of 33 preteens in one room who are sweaty and stinky. Add to the smell the odor that remains after 33 students eat their lunch in the classroom (that's right; the building is too old to have a separate place for the students to eat. They eat in the room.). I was dying slowly.

But, I found the perfect solution. I bought this air freshener, probably by Glade, that you plug in the wall. It warms the oil, and the fragrance wafts around the room, covering the smelly odors with a pleasing scent. I chose "Vanilla Cream" for my scent. I took it to my room, plugged it in, and soon this wonderful smell filled the air. It didn't smell like vanilla to me, but it was a very nice smell. My kids loved it. The smell filled the room, and even wafted into the hallway, helping the building to smell much better.

At the end of the school year last year I packed my air freshener away. This year it was one of the first things I unpacked and set up. I bought refills of my favorite scent on sale. The year started, and everyone who walked into my room loved my scent. "Your room smells so good!" they'd exclaim. Only one student didn't really care for it, but since he said he wasn't allergic to it, I told him he was out-voted. At conference time, a common comment from parents was how good my room smelled. It still stunk in the hallway, and in other rooms. But mine was an olfactory experience!

Fast forward to yesterday. I learn that we had a surprise inspection of the school, and I cannot have plug in air fresheners. This has devastated me. When the kids came into the room in the morning, I broke the news to them. "I got bad news this morning," I said, with a very sad face.

"Did your cat die?" they asked. They made other guesses as to what the bad news might be. Finally, I told them that I had to get rid of my plug in air freshener. Anti climatic? Perhaps. But devastating for me just the same.

My Feng Shui for the Classroom book suggests using orange peels in an open-air container. So I tell the kids that I'm going to try it, and ask them to give me any peeling from oranges and tangerines. Later at lunch one student comes up with some tangerine peelings for me. Can you guess who? Miss Carol, who really dislikes me. She told me it was a Christmas present. I thanked her. I hope the peelings work. I shall miss my vanilla cream...