I had a very stressful day the other day. I had to fly our little newborn son over to Honolulu for an appointment with the only pediatric urologist in Hawaii. It turns out that our son was born with a congenital defect called kidney reflux, which means that one of his kidney ureters doesn't work quite right. He may grow out of it, he may need surgery. We just have to wait and see.
So I had to fly my little two-month old over for the appointment and fly back. Needless to say I was pretty stressed out. He's a very laid-back baby but I didn't know how he'd be on the plane, and in the airport, and in the cab, etc. We've flown with our other son only one time and the return trip was a disaster. He was great the way over, but on the flight back he decided he'd had enough sitting still and threw a full-on tantrum. It was a night flight from Honolulu to Kona and only forty-five minutes long, but felt interminable. The cabin went dead-silent. We were those parents you hate, hanging our heads in shame and hiding in our seats as we tried to calm our boy. It was awful.
This baby, however, was an angel. It couldn't have gone more smoothly. We made our connections and everything went well. He tolerated the uncomfortable car seat in the cab, withstood nursing in weird positions in unfamiliar places, and endured being worn in a baby carrier for hours without complaint. Although things went as smoothly as possible, I was exhausted by the time we returned to Kona and needed a treat. There are two lei stands at the airport with reasonably priced local leis for sale. I choose a pikake lei for myself and wore it the rest of the day. That string of delicate little jasmine flowers gave me the little lift I needed.
The scent of leis can soothe and calm and inspire. They are worn and offered for many occasions and reasons. They are a wonderful thing to enjoy while here in the islands, and to take home. There's a plumeria farm and lei stand up the road from the Inn that sells incredibly fragrant plumeria leis. I would highly recommend picking one up to have in your room while here. For something more permanent, we have a friend who weaves gorgeous leis out of local ti leaves. She gave me one years ago and I still have it hanging on my wall. One year while I was living in Washington and enduring snow, a friend lovingly carried a tuberose lei all the way back from Hawaii to place around my neck. It brightened my cold dark day considerably.
So when you're here please take note of the flowers and plants and leis... Many of our guests observe that there is something distinctive about the way the air smells and feels when they land in Kona and step outside: the gentle air is moist but not wet, warm but not hot, and smells of something sweet. This is the scent of Hawaii.
