Oranges Smell like Christmas

I peeled and ate an orange for breakfast this morning and now my hands and my dining room smell like oranges. I'm also drinking coffee with a peppermint mocha creamer in it. Mmm! It might as well be Christmas now! 

The smell of oranges to me are the smell of Christmas. It seems like when I go home for Christmas break, my mom is great at assuring we shall never be in want for an orange. Not only does it keep the colds in the house to a minimum, oranges are just a great snack when hanging out in the kitchen with the siblings. Or when you're hanging out in the living room, or just.. basically they're the best. 

Some of my favorite Christmas breaks in all my memories were ones when we were working out way through the Psych serious on Netflix.We would pile all over each other on the couch under blankets and peel and eat oranges while watching Psych. 

I guess oranges smell like sibling cuddling time to me too. At home, the unspoken rule is, if someone peels an orange, you can help eat it. And that goes whether or not they peeled it for themself and have the thing in their hands. It's like, you peel an orange thinking, "this is gonna be great" and then 5 hands show up in front of you expecting to leave with one of your precious slices in it. Next thing you know, you got one wedge. 

We don't mind. We like sharing. :)

Now I'm all into dreaming about Christmas break. Or Thanksgiving even! Because I have 3 homework assignments to turn in, one 15 minute presentation, one exam, one 6 paged paper, and 4 quizzes all in the next 4 days. LIKE THAT'S SO MUCH I DON'T WANT TO DO ANY OF IT! 
I'm not complaining. I'm just overwhelmed. And stressed. And I want to ignore all of it 'cuz it's like... too much, but I can't. So, I might just cry or something. Probs, I will. 

It's easy for me to look towards the future when I'm not fully content with the present. Sometimes I think, "Man, when I just get to that next thing, then I'll be happy and less stressed and just... content." Haha... what a joke. 

I said that a lot last Spring, "I just can't wait for summer. When summer gets here, things will get easier." Well, Summer came and then it was, "I can't wait to move. When I get this move over with, then things will settle down." Which turned into, "Gah, when I just get this new place unpacked and settled in, then I can rest a bit." 
And that became, "When we just get a new routine figured out, that'll be better" And that became, "When school starts again, then I'll have a routine. I just can't wait for school to start again." Which of course is now, "When I get to the weekend, or thanksgiving, or graduation, or a new job or whatever."  
IT DOESN'T STOP. 

You just keep thinking the best is yet to come. And maybe it is. But there is a point where you gotta stop and be thankful for NOW. 

Like last week, I was at a NeedtoBreathe concert in this quaint little bar in downtown Iowa City. I'm kinda short. I mean, not kinda... I am. And me and my group were basically standing in the back behind all the people. And I kept thinking, "man, that guy in front of me is really tall.. if I could just stand in front of him, then I could see." But then I looked and saw that the person in front of him was tall and the next person and the next. I'd basically have to be in the front row to see the band. 

Standing in the back I could be thankful I wasn't squished or suffocatingly hot. I wasn't so close to the speakers that I could actually exchange words and comments with my friend, I could hear the sound pretty well and I mean, I was there. I also have the advantage that I've met the band before so seeing them wasn't as critical to me. But it was kind of a moment to step back and think about being all there in the present time when you should be. It's good to hope for the future, but it's really important to be thankful for the now. 

The point where your future hopes sprinkle distaste on your present circumstance is the point where you need to stop looking ahead and look where you're trippin'. 

That's what I'm learning. Current contentment. Because Ima graduate supa soon and I'm not as ready for that as I imagine I am sometimes. Because there's a big ol' hashtag called "Responsibility" that comes with all that adulthood stuff and not only do I not have the funds for all of that, I'm not very emotionally strong at trying new things either. There will just be a lot that comes with the transition that will bring a little stress. Which is good. It's normal. It's going to happen. I just need to be content with the now.