Response to "Muskgrass Chara"- Dean Moore

This piece is interesting for its sense of smell and the description of the natural world. Dean Moore basically tells what she is going to write about in the first sentence: “I used to love all smells.” She uses her sense of smells as a transition between her children, her father, her house, and being immersed in nature. In the first paragraph, I think I can get a sense of her personality as she says she loves the smell of the beach, which shows her need for freedom and innocence. She also explains her relationship with her children by saying she knew where they have been when they would come home.  I like the switch to sadness about her father being sick, because not all smells are fantastic as she was previously depicting. The third paragraph describes her life as mother; I’m unsure whether or not if she is satisfied with this aspect of her life because it seems typical or obligatory. Her need for freedom comes out when she explains her boat “Chara”. I like the last paragraph because it shows how sometimes it’s good to go into solitary and nature to figure out how you feel, which is relatable and effective.