"Sometimes the expected simply pales in comparison to the unexpected. You
got to wonder why we cling to our expectations, because the expected is
just what keeps us steady. Standing. Still, the expected's just the
beginning, the unexpected is what changes our lives."
One of my favorite bloggers ever is Kelle Hampton, without a doubt. I first found her blog, Enjoying the Small Things, through the birth story of her second daughter Nella Cordelia, who was unexpectedly born with Down syndrome. Before reading on, read the story. It was one of the most beautifully written things I've ever read in my entire life. It is raw, honest, and it stirs emotion.
I've always asked myself what I would do if I had a child born with special needs. How would I deal with the situation? How would it effect my life? Kelle gives her take on it and describes it in way most would probably be afraid to,in her memoir, "Bloom".
I've been looking forward to reading this book for quite some time. Memoirs are one of my favorite things in the entire book world. I wanted to read it over Christmas break because I knew then, I would have time to sit without being interrupted and enjoy it. Yesterday was that splendid day. I zipped over to Tattered Cover at 1:00 to pick up the book which I ordered yesterday, and spent my $25 gift card plus another $1.24. Usually, I detest spending that much money on books, and I could have bought it for a much more reasonable price of $10 on my Kindle, but this was one of those books that I knew I wanted to have in print to keep with me for the rest of my life. With a medium coconut steamer in hand and the book, I settled in for a cozy afternoon of indulgence.
Now before I get to the review, let me express how much I despise the hatred toward Kelle Hampton. There are literally feeds on blogs and other sites about how they hate the "branding" that Kelle puts forth. They believe that Kelle is an extremist and melodramatic, a fame seeker, conceded. Everything is just too perfect, they say. In fact, just yesterday on her blog, Kelle wrote about dealing with the negativity. On a recent photo she posted on Instagram, an extremely rude person commented on her 'unauthenticity for fame' and 'glittered life with everything good is just too much... it's just not authentic or even plausible'. As Kelle said in Chicago on her book tour, "Hurting people hurt." Jealously is something we all have. That little green monster. But there are people who think that Kelle is all fake. Because a mother to young daughters, with another on the way, definitely has the time to create a fake life for her blog and photographs (which she is frequently taking to capture the precious moments with her girls). To all you haters, shame on you.
Now on to the book. It was magnificent. The book is larger than I expected, but only because it is filled not only with Kelle's words, but her photographs. There is something to be said about pictures... they really do tell a thousand words.
Through the book, beginning with the story of Nella's birth, Kelle expresses the grief she felt, as she was handed the child she was not expecting. My heart ached with her. It was all so raw. She didn't sugarcoat her emotions, she was honest and spoke of her initial selfishness, her deep sadness.
I wanted to be Kelle's friend. The way she described her Net, her group of friends there for her at her darkest (later turned best) moment made me wish I lived in Naples and was part of their group that has girls nights, beach days, and charm exchanges. I thought of my friends, and though we are far from having kids of our own, I could picture if that was us now, and how we would each respond. I know who my Heidi would be, my Wylie, my Carie, my Net.
Bloom: to flourish or thrive; to be in or achieve a state of healthful beauty and vigor; a flourishing, healthy condition; the time or period of greatest beauty
... and that is exactly what Kelle does.
The way that Kelle grows from this unexpected event is truly remarkable, and not many would be able to do so with such grace and humility. No one can go through such shock and be perfectly ok the next day. We all, as human beings, process.
Some people criticize Kelle for grieving too much, for wallowing in self pity, for being shocked. Her world as she knew it was shattered, but she slowly was able to put her half full glass together with Krazy Glue. If I were her, God knows I would only be the same way. Don't judge a situation until you have lived it.
Some say she has an overly happy, "perfect" life. I say she knows how to find joy and beauty where others see nothing. She makes the most of what she finds value in. She lives her life how she wants to, it is after all, her life. "The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything."
"Bloom" is a book that can be read and reread, each time with something new the reader will discover. Life is all about perspective, how you see it is how it will be. In our lives, we have our blessings and lessons. How will you learn from your blessing? How will you make the most of your life, and the unexpected that is part of it?
I highly recommend "Bloom" to anyone, whether they live a life of funk and extravagant colors, or a simple, white picket fence life. There is so much we can learn from what we never know is coming.
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
-Mary Oliver
xo
Hannah
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