At the Village Oaks Community Center, we decided to spend the week before Valentine's Day completing a labor of love: hand-made, lavender scented sachets.
Some were making these sachets for Dad, some for Mom, and most were making them for Granny or Pa-Pa. We reminded the children that Valentine's Day is not about buying someone a big diamond, taking someone to dinner, or in any way proving your love by how much you spend.
The labor of love was spent hand stitching together two pieces of heart-shaped felt, writing on it the name of our loved one with glitter glue, and finally stuffing it with lavender scented polyfil. The children were so proud of themselves.
As we were sending the kids home to deliver their gifts, one child said, "Ms. Jayda, I'm glad I didn't go to Family Dollar and try to buy my Granny something. Nothing in that store would look as good as my heart!"
-- Jayda Ekundayo
