Book Review: Bloom

In my second trimester with Whitney, about a week before I had any idea anything might be “off,” a friend just happened to send me a link to Kelle’s blog (Enjoying the Small Things).  It was the delivery room story of finding out her daughter, Nella, had Down syndrome, and it was REAL, very touching.  I bawled my eyes out.  After finding out about Whitney I went back and re-read her story and cried even harder because I felt with her. It hurt, but there was hope.  I continued to check in on her blog a few times shortly after Whitney’s birth but felt overwhelmed by all the amazing things she does: how she decorates, the party she throws, her social life, her beautiful pictures, her clothes/hair/makeup.  I stopped reading because I felt so incapable in comparison – barely surviving motherhood, clearly I have little in common with her.  Well here I am a few years later feeling much more comfortable with my own pace of life and able to [lightly] pursue my own passions again, and filling my own blog with my own pictures.  I find Kelle inspiring in many ways.  While the more I read about her in the book the more I realized how my experience and personality are different than hers, I value her journey and find it beautiful.  I truly enjoy her storytelling, and now regularly frequent her blog.  Of my shelf of books about parent’s lives changed by Down Syndrome (which I’m sure I’ll write more reviews about at some point), so far, this has the most entertaining writing and beautiful photos.  Read it!