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What’s Pink and Red All Over?

I went to the store with a friend today and the Valentine’s Day displays are in full force. At first I was taken aback but then I realized that the timing is just about right. Christmas set-ups in July really irk me, because that’s nearly five months ahead of the holiday (I am absolutely not judging those of you who love it!). That is a lot of time to stare at green, red, and gold (and snow-covered) stuff. Poor Valentine’s Day doesn’t have a lot of time in the retail spotlight when you compare: just about six weeks.

The sudden infusion of hearts and love and chocolate and pinks and reds made me smile; it’s really a perfect combo to pop up in stores in the middle of winter. Red is my very favorite color in the world too, so I’m not opposed to an overabundance of it everywhere I look.

This particular display of oversized bears made me gasp when we approached it from the other side, because we saw the price first: eighty-nine dollars. I would never spend that much on a stuffed animal no matter how big but we walked around to the other side and got a laugh, totally free of charge. There’s something about the way that bear seems to be hanging by a thread on the bottom of the pile that spoke to me.

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He could symbolize so many things: our weariness with the state of the world at large, politics, or social media. Maybe he represents how we all feel about the recent cold snap. Perhaps he’s just tired like so many of us. Leave it to me to give an oversized stuffed animal the qualities of humans. That said…

Hang in there, buddy. Spring is coming.

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