We've reached the point on the calendar (at least here in Northeast Ohio) when our long-dormant furnaces have come to life in order to keep our homes feeling somewhere between "livable" and "inferno," depending on your personal temperature preference.
It should be noted, though, that as I type these words in early October, this has not yet happened. However, I imagine that by now your furnace has awakened and, as you read this, is now working around the clock to keep you comfortable.
Which means that, at some point recently, you likely experienced the "Smell When You First Turn on the Furnace."
My fellow Clevelanders and those living in similar climates know what I mean. When you haven't used your furnace in months then switch it back on, there's often a certain smell that permeates the house while everything heats up for the first time.
Scientifically, at least from what I've read, this smell is nothing more than several months' worth of dust and dirt accumulation in the furnace and ductwork burning off.
Emotionally, though, it has a very specific meaning.
It means that summer – even of the Indian variety – is officially dead and buried.
It means Thanksgiving is right around the corner, to be followed startlingly soon after by Christmas and New Year's Day.
It means the long, cold, gray slog toward spring has commenced, and there's no turning back now.
That smell is the passage of time.
It is, like all distinctive smells, associated with a very specific situation. It is the smell of mid-November, and it carries more weight and meaning than you may have realized.
Or it's just the dead mouse that got into your furnace in July finally being cremated.
Either way, it's going to be a while before you can take a dip in your backyard pool.
Buckle up and enjoy the ride.
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