Shut your nose.

When I was pregnant, I had a serious problem with smell. This wasn’t completely out of the ordinary – other women get like this too, but it usually goes away after the first trimester.

Mine didn’t. For the 35 weeks that I carried that little sucker, I could not stand to smell anything. Perfume, my basement, my dogs, rain, grocery stores (really anything besides guacamole), one sniff and I tossed my cookies – so to speak. It was when I was pregnant that I unearthed the real reason that most kitchens are designed with the fridge within spitting distance of the sink.

My personal fix for this issue was to keep my nose closed, completely shut down. And this was when I came to discover that I have my very own super power.

Apparently, most people can only close their nose by holding it shut with their fingers (or a clothespin – but that really hurts). But I can do it without my hands. I can’t even explain it – the how or the muscles involved. I can just do it. It’s like I have a nose switch or something. I’m doing it right now. And you can’t even tell. I still look like I do when my nose is open. If any of you are thinking this is no big deal (which is what I originally thought), then you are special too – but, at this point, I’ve so many people tell me this is extraordinary that I’ve come to accept that it is true.

I should probably have t-shirts made. With a big nose on the front. The back will say, ‘I can shut it.’

As a writer, it made me think about what else needs to be shut at regular and excruciatingly important moments and how, all the while, we need to still look the same, equanimous even, to the outside world. Let’s see:

• Our mouths when a client wants us to ‘add flowery language’
• Our doors when people that wish us harm come knocking
• Our computers/smartphones when we need to be human and interact with others
• Our insecurity when we’re pitching a proposal or naming our fee
• Our egos when we’re writing for someone else
• Our doubts when we’re writing for ourselves

And some things must remain open with poise as well:

• Our minds
• Our hope
• Our relationships with those that mentor, adore and support us (and us them)
• Our desire to learn, stretch, expand and grow
• Our capacity to write about different things
• Our ability to write in someone else’s voice
• Our tolerance and acceptance of different perspectives
• Our stream, our flow of words, thoughts and ideas
• Our belief in ourselves

Image credit: mag3737