I never knew how much I loved my sense of smell until I lost it. I’ve always thought I had a rather terrible nose — either overly sensitive (ack, perfume!) or can’t pick out a violet from a gardenia. Turns out, it was working just fine until I got COVID.
I didn’t fully understand what it meant to lose your sense of smell. I didn’t occur to me that, while of course I can still inhale just (mostly) fine, in the place of aromas and/or odors, there is just absence. Complete and total absence. I can’t smell a thing. Not homemade pho, not a burning candle, not the eucalyptus extract that I bought in Morocco to clear my sinuses (think essence of Vick’s Vapo-rub), not even a whiff of gasoline.
For someone whose life pretty much revolves around cooking and eating and drinking Continue reading