root for the cute

i love cuties.

love love love.

the little mini-ness of them all, the bright color, the easy-peeling, the funny little stickers that change with the season- they look like little travel-size oranges that belong in the aisle of other mini things i love, like mini toothpaste, mini loofahs, mini deodorants and mini bottles of lotion and body wash.

in short, these cuties are cute.

and have ruined me for oranges.

at mom's house the other day, i reached into the produce drawer for a snack, and found a few potatoes, lemons and limes, and two oranges. no apples, no cuties. immediately, two voices in my head started speaking... one told me: "what the heck? i can't eat this. it's an ORANGE. a real one." the other said, "oh, it's ok. you like oranges!" "i do? when is the last time i had one? i want a cutie. this will be not good." " come on, this is a nice, bright orange looking tangerine thing. it's not an orange. you'll like it. just take it. you need a snack". i took the orange tangerine thing and slipped it in my bag, using the bright orange color to convince myself it was like a grown up cutie, and would taste just as sweet and peel just as easy.

newsflash: oranges are not cuties. the orange was good, i can't lie, and i was pleasantly surprised, but it did NOT peel easy, it was NOT sweet like a cutie, and it did NOT have the cheesy little sticker on it with the unzipped orange.

great news! it didn't kill me or ruin my day. i liked the orange, and i'm actually encouraged to buy a bag of them at the store... they remind me of my dad and childhood, when orange was my favorite flavor in popsicles and soda. but still, it wasn't a cute little piece of mini fruit i could find in the travel aisle at target.