Usually when it looks like we’re gonna get a freeze, we bring in all my tropical plants. Into the dining room. Which then becomes a solarium of sorts. Or maybe a green house. Or maybe a room where Nolemana tells me it’s too crowded, too full of plants and “are you sure you really need to do this?”

Why yes, I am, as a matter of fact. But I digress. Last December we got a surprise frost, and we didn’t get the plants in on time. My poor hibiscus! It lost all its leaves in a big hurry. But all winter long, I kept watering it, hoping against hope that it would survive.

It looked pretty puny when we finally put it (and the other plants) outside after a very long, chilly, rainy, winter and spring. For weeks I wasn’t sure if it was even alive. Maybe only makediedead and I’d have to get another one.

I love this hibiscus. Outside our kitchen door back in da ‘āina we had a gorgeous red hibiscus, so this one reminds me of home.

Then, little by little, green leaves began to appear. And one day, many weeks later, I went out on da deck and was surprised by this:

Wow! Not so many leaves, but try look da flowers!

I was so happy to see that my hibiscus hadn’t died!

And not only was it alive, the flowers were gorgeous like always!

It’s a good reminder to me; even on days when I think that life is just too hard, or if I’m tempted to give up on something, there is always hope. This hibiscus had to go through a long cold winter before it could put forth new growth, but once it got some rays of the bright sun, it bloomed. It was almost as if it was saying, “I’m a survivor! I made it!”

Mahalo nui to AFK foa dis link!!