Hey Valentine’s, It’s Ferris Wheel Day, too!

Think February 14 is all about red cupcakes, sugar candy hearts, and glittery rose petals? Think again.

In addition to honoring Christian saints with saucy names, Feb. 14 also marks the birthdate of American inventor and engineer George Ferris, in 1859. Happy Ferris Wheel Day!

While Valentine’s Day is obviously the more famous holiday, I’m fancying this ferris wheel idea. In fact, I think the two holidays complement one another well. I can get pretty freaked out on a ferris wheel, especially in the minutes before I climb on. You know what I’m talking about. Your head tilts all the way back, and you’re staring at the very top, thinking just how much you love the feeling of your feet on the ground. But before I know it, I’m being ushered into a metal cart. The bar comes down. The engine creaks my cart forward, and I wonder if the gears have seen an oil can since last the last millenium. And once my tiny pod has poked its way out from the bottom, the cart starts to sway, along with my stomach. I clench the metal cage and close my eyes, just for a few seconds. Just enough time to open them and see an entirely new world. Up here, the air is different. Quiet and calm. There are building and trees you’d never noticed before. And things you never could have seen if you hadn’t climbed in that cart.

While Valentine’s Day can get a little sticky sometimes – all that chocolate wrapped in tinfoil – I actually do love how this day reminds us of those euphoric feelings. The highs that come only from risking something, for the blind belief that it’ll all be worth it. That we have to conquer some of our fears to get that golden view. And how, even once you’re back on the ground, down with the trash and ordinary people, you’ll never forget how it felt at the top. Aren’t the best relationships just ones that have learned how to recreate that ferris wheel romance, long after the initial ride has stopped?

Even if you’ve decided to leave Valentine’s Day off your calendar, maybe Ferris Wheel Day is something you’ll want to celebrate. And if that holiday lets you down, at least you can get some cotton candy afterward.

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