“Mom, have you seen my heart?” my daughter asked as she rounded the corner to go search in the kitchen. “The last time I saw it it was on your bed.” I replied. “Oh, that’s right!” she yelled as she went running into her room. My Heart My heart just happens to be a little, red, fabric heart with frayed edges that was once filled with lavender blossoms – a sachet. Seven years ago, my husband bought me a delectable box of hazelnut chocolates from France for our sixth anniversary. When the package arrived, the ornate box of chocolates came with a bright red sachet attached to the top. The fabric was thick – maybe a denim or a canvas – and the French lavender flowers that were inside the sachet perfumed the air as soon as I opened the box – a nice surprise. I remember savoring those chocolates. I’d eat a piece of the creamy hazelnut treat once per day – letting them melt in my mouth. Sharing was very limited. I know my husband had a few pieces, but the kids (who were one and two-yrs. old at the time) shared only one piece. The chocolates didn’t last long, but I kept the sachet in a drawer for years, until my daughter started to sleep with it at age five. My daughter was going through a phase of being afraid of going to bed. “What happens if a tornado comes during the night?” “What happens if our house starts on fire?” “What happens if a robber comes to our house?” My daughter would think up every bad situation, and worry herself sick, which prevented her from going to sleep at a regular hour. My husband and I were getting very tired staying up late, and we were running out of ideas on how to help her through this phase of unrest, until I remembered the red heart. The Lavender Sachet One night when my daughter came to our room, unable to sleep again, I went to my drawer, pulled out the heart, and sat down with my daughter. “Smell it!” I instructed her. “Mmmm… that smells good.” she replied as she exhaled after taking in the still-sweet scent of the lavender sachet. My daughter sat quietly as I told her the story of how I acquired the heart. “Would you like to bring this heart with you to bed?” I asked. “It will help remind you that my heart is with you always.” I offered my daughter. She and I walked back to her room, my daughter snuggled into her covers, and put the sachet up to her nose to smell the sweet, calming lavender. It’s been years now, and my daughter still sleeps with my heart. The bright red heart is a little more muted, the edges are a little more frayed, and a hole in one of the seams allowed all of the lavender to fall out. She still has bad nights of sleep here and there, but when she does, you can bet you’ll find the red heart with her. The Boutique Just recently, my parents found out that they will be running a small boutique on their farm come May of 2019. I asked my daughter if she would like to make hearts, and sell them at the boutique. “Yes!” she said. “I can make hearts for other kids that have a hard time sleeping.” Last weekend, my mother dropped off some of my grandmother’s old thread and some red felt that my mom had found at a thrift store. I ordered two pounds of fresh lavender blooms from France, and a small bag of polyester fill. First on my to-do list was to hand-wash my daughter’s old heart, stuff the sachet with a little bit of fill and lots of lavender, and stitch up the hole. My heart is now clean, and smelling sweetly of lavender once again. We have spent the last few days cutting out hearts, stitching them up using the simple, but showy blanket stitch, and then filling them with sweet lavender. We have many more my hearts to make before the boutique in the spring, but our hearts are in it – we’ve been enjoying ourselves. Love My heart began with the celebration of love – a wedding anniversary, and will hopefully continue on for years – bringing love and comfort to others. My Heart – the perfect project for this Valentine’s season. Happy Valentine’s Day to you! I hope you have love surrounding you, even if it is just a small, red, heart to remind you.