The smell of lumber, like walking into Lowe's or Home Depot, always takes me back to my grandfather's garage. He was a carpenter by trade and was always working wood in the garage.
When I was a toddler, 3-4 years old, I had a little table and chair in my room that I would sit in to play, draw, read, whatever. I was so sad the day I realized that I was too old and too big to sit in that chair and play on that table. I must have been about 6 or 7.
At age 10 I was hanging out with my grandfather in his garage, watching him cut and shape wood into wonderful things. I asked if I could help and even though it slowed his work down considerably he took me through each and every step of what he was doing. That was my first ever wood working project, it was a small, toddler sized wooden chair for one of my cousins who was just turning 3 years old. I recognized the design of the chair but it took me a little bit to realize that it was the same as the one I had outgrown. It suddenly dawned on me that my favorite table and chair were made for me by my grandfather.