Sowing seeds of love

In prison movies, there's often a character with LOVE tattooed on the knuckles of one hand, and HATE tattooed on his other hand. I can usually relate to this guy, because he's obviously spent some time introspecting and searching for balance in life.
The holidays inevitably bring out the yin and yang of the universe, giving and receiving, and this year certainly has presented a swirling mass of feelings to wonder about whilst starting at my knuckles. We had a pleasant Christmas with friends and some family members (LOVE) while other family members have acted hurtful (HATE), causing me to grit my teeth and ponder human nature!
Last night, I went to bed feeling decidedly bitter about the state of affairs, and was then further vexed when Wyatt started projectile-vomiting all over my bedroom. I'm sure I was sneering at midnight, hoping morning wouldn't come too quickly.
But come it did, and with it a package that melted the icy brittle that had formed around my heart.
My friend Jennifer has a sister, Pam, who is a schoolteacher. Her class is made up of 23 fifth-graders who don't have a lot, and every year, before Christmas, Pam and her sister & another friend, Julie, try to gather and put together little gifts for the kids to give to their families. Pam takes a bunch of little items into the classroom, and the children take turns selecting things for family presents. As it happened, in the weeks before Christmas, I had a lot to give away, as I packed up my mom's house. Pam, Julie, and Jennifer bundled up a variety of my mom's belongings, and Pam presented everything to the class so that they could shop. We all thought it would be really nice, and that the timing was great for everyone involved.
This morning, as I shuffled around with my first cappuccino, Jennifer and Julie came over and gave me an 8 x 10 envelope filled with thank-you notes from Pam's class. Having been steeped in a little too much rudeness over the past few days, I was taken by surprise that the kids had been so thoughtful to write to me, especially since I didn't realize that Pam had told them where the stuff had come from. But she had, and reading those hand-written notes was one of the most profound experiences of my life.
LOVE!
Each child expressed happiness, thankfulness, and gratitude. They wished me a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and told me what a blessing these "things" of my mom's had been to them. Most of them took the time to tell me what they picked, and I knew exactly what they were talking about. The tea kettle. The doll. The mugs. The wooden owl. The picture frame. And they told me the person they'd chosen to give their gifts to: "My mom." "My nana." "My dad." "My cousin who is nine months old." Card after card -- twenty-three young people expressing how happy they were.
I was blown away.

I sat at the kitchen table, crying unexpected tears of joy, and I felt deep gratitude for what they had given me: kindness and appreciation. I have never imagined a feeling so wonderful, and I felt not only the balance of life restored, but glowing with positivity. My mom's life has been packed up, but not put away. The love that she had in her continues to reverberate like ripples on a pond, and it is gratifying, and uplifting, and it dissolves bitterness.