I took Sophie, Henry and Oliver to the nursery yesterday, to buy some potting soil for our vegetable garden. The boys climbed into the car, Henry in the front seat with me, and Oliver in the back with Sophie.
Oliver leaned over and gave Sophie a resounding kiss on the cheek.
Sophie smells weird, like lavender. She needs to smell like something different, he said.
What do you mean? I asked.
I think she needs to smell like a normal girl, like what normal girls wear. Like Daisy and Emma.
But lavender smells good!
Yeah, but it smells sort of like what a baby's clean butt should smell like. Not a teenager.
I handed him a small roll-on fragrance thingy that I had in my purse, some kind of ginger essence from Origins.
Yeah, that's good, he said, after rolling it on Sophie's neck. He leaned in to smell her and said, Yeah, that's good. She smells like a normal girl now.
Wise words from a wise boy-man. THAT one is going to break many, many hearts!
ReplyDeleteThe nose knows! Have I mentioned lately that I adore Oliver?
ReplyDeleteBest,
Bonnie
I would really hate to hear what Oliver had to say about how I smell.
ReplyDeleteP.S. That is a very fine picture.
ReplyDeleteSweet sweet
ReplyDeleteRemember Love's fragrances? .... Rain, Lemon, Jasmine .... My brothers thought I stunk
Can I just ask how often Oliver smells "real girls?" ;-).
ReplyDeleteWhat a doll!
oh, oliver. what a dear loving boy.
ReplyDeleteOliver is clearly wise beyond his years. What a boy!
ReplyDeleteHow do you think Sophie feels about her smell? Maybe you could bring her to a store that sells essential oils and see what scents she is particularly fond of, and mix her favorites into unscented versions of her daily body-care products, like moisturizers. Then she would have her own personal scent.
It was the brotherly kiss that got me. How dear and affectionate your Oliver is. What lovely curls Sophie has...on to have those curls on my straight haired head.
ReplyDeleteYou have quite a boy/man there, Elizabeth. No many out there like him in this world...you're blessed!
ReplyDeleteI think as our children get older it is sometimes hard to see them in the present moment - we look at them and see all the ages they have ever been. My girls are home from college and I'm torn between offering them a glass of wine and ordering them to clean up their rooms!
ReplyDeleteI need Oliver.
(And I am so relieved to know that my Origins ginger lotion makes me smell like a "normal girl").
I absolutely love this. There is so much love and heart and spunk in those words. Oliver, you are a good man.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I loved this post! What a special boy, golly a boy who thinks beyond his immediate wants - amazing!
ReplyDeleteI love that Oliver. So much.
ReplyDeleteHow sweet is Oliver! I can just picture him leaning in to sniff her and then loving on her. :)
ReplyDeleteNow that is just about the sweetest thing, ever!!
ReplyDeletePS - It's making me laugh that the word verification for this comment is "nosess" :D
Kids get such funny ideas! :)
ReplyDeleteBrother will keep her stylin' you can count on it. Now you know what he can get Sophie for Christmas!
ReplyDeleteHilarious!!
ReplyDeleteI missed this post somehow.
ReplyDeleteThat boy. That girl. The way you write about them. They go straight to my heart.
This made me tear up.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet sweet boy. And a lucky sister.
Wow. That Oliver.
ReplyDeleteoh, that is priceless. Something about that scene brings your life into clarity for me. Sometimes your life seems so wildly different from mine, I have a hard time... "getting it" (not as good with words as you). Thanks for sharing over and over and over again (for those of us that need rote learning) :>)
ReplyDeletei love that boy. and that photo of the two of them together...
ReplyDeletePure love.
ReplyDelete