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Dormant Does Not Mean Dead!

Last fall I could feel the chill of winter creeping into the atmosphere. What would happen to my beautiful red velvety  geraniums that brought me so much pleasure during the summer? I hated to say good by to them.  I wondered could they possibly live through the winter and bloom again  if  I brought  them in from the approaching  frost,  I was willing to see if they could.

The wooden pot was very heavy so I enlisted some help to bring it into the unheated pool room.
All winter long I watched indifferently as they began to shed leaves.  For months they lived without one drink of water from me, their neglectful owner. I began to ask myself why did I  even bother bringing them in if I wasn't going to care for them?  The dying brown leaves still did not move me to water the plant. One tenacious geranium kept  hanging on for dear life.

Five months later spring arrived.  That one stubborn red geranium proved to be a survivor. I thought I might need help to move the pot outside to let the  rest of the dying plant finish its decay. However the pot was light enough for me to lift and move alone.  I was in no hurry to do anything about the plant so it set out side for a long time.

The Seattle spring rains came in torrents. My struggling geraniums got pelted over and over. Before summer arrived I left town for six weeks. When I came back I was shocked. That geranium was alive with new abundant budding shoots trailing out of the pot.

I started to think about what happened.  This plant had survived because it went dormant. That heavy pot  contained the moisture that it needed to survive the winter. It had conserved energy by shedding the leaves it did not need during the winter. There was life in the roots. When the spring came and it was warmed by the sun it burst into life again.

Sometimes to make it  through life's winter one has to shed some things. Survival may mean letting some things die so that the energy can go to the essentials.  Like that plant I realized that I've been through several of life's winters.  I am sure there are a few more of them in the future. What I've learned, from my geraniums is shed the non essentials. When life's winters come make sure the roots are getting what they need. Spring's sun and rain will come. Life goes on and I can do more than survive. I can, and so can you, bloom again.


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