Bloom

I have been a reading machine lately and it is absolutely glorious!  Escaping in between the pages of a book calms my soul and inspires my imagination.  While I have been reading a wide repertoire of books, the one I'd like to focus on is by a first time author, photographer, mother, wife and fellow blogger, entitled Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected by Kelle Hampton. It's beautiful. The words and the photography.

Bloom depicts the first year of life as a mother of a beautiful baby girl with down syndrome.  It is an honest encounter. Painfully heartbreaking at times. Hilarious and comical at others. Honest and endearing throughout. 

While I loved the book, I am aware that not everyone will or does.  Kelle is criticized for being idealistic, in denial of the reality of down syndrome, and the list goes on, but I disagree.  I admire her for her honest encounter of her lowest points, her coping mechanisms, her "net" of friends and family, and her process of accepting and embracing her daughter and the down syndrome family she is now apart of. 

If your were to read my book, you'd find a stickynote with the following items jotted on it:

Portrail of her husband (beer, heater)

Old life and new life

Break with Church (I'd respond similarly...sadly)

Lainey loving Nella without hesitation

Admitting what you need might not be what someone else needs...and that's ok.  

To touch on a few points here...Her husband is great!  He is a father and a great one.  The "old life and new life" aspect of the book is something I easily relate to.  Kids change your life dramatically, not in a negative way at all, but rather they change your life, your priorities, the way your think, the way you love; it's quite amazing! Kelle broke from the church after not being accepted because she loved someone that the church didn't accept.  That is horrible. On to a sweeter note, Lainey is a doll!  Kids don't judge, they don't see differences, they are precious and can teach us smart adults a lot.  That's exactly what Miss Lainey does. Finally, when it comes to emotions and life in general, there is a black and white manual.  We all love, hurt, feel, express, cope, and the list goes on, differently.  It's ok.  Be confident in how you feel.

Read this book.  Feel this book.  Love this book.  I did!

Much love.