Conversations with Kelsy McHenry

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsy McHenry.

Hi Kelsy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi there! Well, If you had asked me 8 years ago to introduce myself, I probably would have told you that I was a happily married mom of three beautiful kids, and living a pretty amazing life with my husband who I adored, Heath.

One year later though, our world turned upside down when our 12 yr old daughter suffered from a chronic mystery illness that left her immobilized and us, her parents, desperate for answers.

Our daughter, MaryKate, was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease after missing all of 8th grade and traveling with me for over a year to almost 100 doctor visits with 27 specialists. As she began treatment and slowly recovered, I realized I needed to search for MYSELF again. The once happy, inspired, vivacious Kelsy had gotten lost in the painful, stressful process.

I realized that I needed a chance to get away and escape the overwhelming stress I’d been under as a mother and wife. I knew I couldn’t be the only mom out there who needed a break, who needed to be reminded that all the menial daily tasks she performed mattered and so did her dreams, as well as her mental and physical health.

So, with support from my family, I created my first mom conference and called it BLOOM (By Loving On Ourselves More, we BLOOM) because I realized that, as my daughter was slowly recovering, it was my time to bloom again.

Over the years, I had attended several wonderful women’s conferences across the country that felt like a mini-vacation where I’d walked away feeling like a whole new person, ready to take on the world. I came back to reality and REFRESHED.

I was celebrated, inspired, motivated, and given time to relax for a few days…I was able to take care of ME. It was exactly what this tired mom needed. I knew that I needed to create this incredible opportunity for other women.

Tell us about that first pivotal event and what has transpired since then:
At my first “momference” in Portland in 2017, over 200 women traveled from 15 states and Canada to TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES and it was all I had hoped for!

It is now 2022 and 4 conferences, 7 pop-ups, and 9 cities later (with 1,000 + women attending from a combined 39 states so far), these events are my way of helping all mamas across the nation come together with their closest friends to share that same wonderful experience.

As the years have evolved, so have I and so has BLOOM mom tribe. I have loved sharing other women’s stories so much that I hosted a weekly live lunch + listen interview segment on Instagram for a year and then took it a step further to launch my podcast, Mama’s Gotta Bloom. During this time, we once again stood helpless alongside our daughter as she suffered from an eating disorder and anxiety (likely due to the effects of Lyme disease). Watching her resilience through so much adversity has been a huge learning lesson for me. Unfortunately, I’ve had to put that to use as an unexpected widow. My world flipped upside down in March of 2021 when my husband unexpectedly died in a skiing accident, but the one thing that has been a constant source of happiness is the BLOOM mom tribe.

Wow, Kelsy, you’ve had a lot of diversity and trauma to work through. What do you see in the future that might help make bloom and your own life a smoother journey?
That’s a great question! Although I call Washington state home, I have family in Arizona, which is part of the reason I chose Phoenix to host my next conference. After an Ancestry.com test revealed that I was related to the same family who owned one of my favorite restaurants here, Aunt Chilada’s, I knew that Arizona was bound to be my 2nd home. My husband and I had spent many years traveling with our kids to watch Mariner’s spring training, and it was always a given that we’d walk over to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. We even traveled with other families and brought them to the restaurant, never having a clue that the owners and I were actually cousins! I’m so blessed to call them family and even more excited to share our story as part of my next conference in February! I’m grateful for the opportunity to really know Arizona as more than just a tourist and am so thankful for all those who are here with me and cheering me on as I continue to grow and bloom.

What do you think is so special about this phoenix conference?
Honestly – it’s the people! It’s not easy to start fresh in a new city to host a conference each year, but the caring staff at the venue resort (Pointe Hilton At The Peak) and my family at Aunt Chilada’s have made it smoother.

It takes time and patience to build trust between my platform and the women in the community – I’m so grateful for the local guest speakers from Phoenix (like Ashley LeMieux and Michelle Fortin) who are supporting my mission and joining us at BLOOM Phoenix.

Any last words for our readers out there?
Motherhood is messy and magnificent and chaotic and beautiful, all at the same time. My hope is that this BLOOM Phoenix weekend will be a time for growth and connection for many women, not only in Arizona but across the country.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bloommomtribe.com
• Instagram: @bloommomtribe
• Facebook: bloommomtribe

Image Credits
Laurie Denney Photography and Hania Hussein