FOREWORD

Let's smell the summer!

With the arrival of summer, rooms and offices become cramped and you can finally escape the confines of the walls, if time allows. Activities, festivals, hanging out and, of course, a well-deserved rest.

No more distance. We can and do jump away anytime, anywhere. Hop in the car and you can be anywhere in the country in a couple of hours. The countryside rushes by, with castles, mountains and forests in the distance. We "walk" by car. The more we see, the better.

After a while, however, something empty, something inexplicably missing awoke in me. It wasn't long ago that I realised what was missing from the puzzle! The smells. The dusty taste of sunshine in my mouth, which is not born through the glass of the car. The smell of linden that reminds me of summers as a child, or the bitter fresh air of the forest that embraces me imperceptibly. The scents evoke feelings and memories that complete the experience.

A disturbing thought occurred to me. My children, whom we take on excursions by car, to school by car, to sports by car, what fragrant memories will they take with them into the future? Do they perhaps not even feel the sense of absence that I feel when I see a field of flowers through the car window?

We play sports fast, we go on trips fast, we teach fast, we learn fast, and we forget to stop and take a deep breath that will colour our memories and make our children's lives fuller.

Since realising this, I have been consciously stopping at a tree or bush with my girls and dressing our souls in finery with a few sniffs.

I wish you all a fragrant and beautiful summer!

Edina Borbás
columnist