Today I saw a man standing with a giant teddy bear at my EL stop. The man was shifting the bear around, trying in vain to find a natural position to pose with the stuffed sentiment of love. But, the whole time he stood waiting, he never looked angry, never seemed to resent the fact that he would be forced to share the miniaturized CTA chair with this over sized ball of cotton. He actually looked happy with his bear of burden.
Similarly I saw a woman with unruly bunch of balloons and a plethora of young men with overflowing bouquets of flowers, all pleased as punch to be squished onto the EL, maneuvering the blustery sidewalks or cramming onto the buses with their tokens of love.
Now usually I am not a fan of V Day; nor am I a fan of forced gift giving or of any cheesy or clichéd presents in any heart shaped form, but there is something about the self sacrificing struggle to give a lame $10 bunch of balloons to your love that makes it a labor of love and not just a Hallmark obligation. It is really what your love goes through to bring you those flowers – negative wind chills, crazy high sales tax, CTA nightmares- that makes Chicago an unexpectedly beautiful city for Valentines Day.
Maybe it is the fresh winds of the windy city or maybe it is the beautifully baby breathe free bouquet of flowers I received today, but something is definitely putting a little optimism in this former V-Day Grinch.
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