Welcome to Colleen's web site, version 5.0!

Colleen is an awesome kid who loves to read, do homework (and she isn't even in school yet) and play outside. She is an artist, philosopher and great mathematician. She is a very good photographer, too, who was recently introduced to a digital camera. The photo at the top of the page is a self-portrait.

Her favorite color is pink. She loves to wear dresses, play dress-up and play with dolls. She is all girl. However, she is also tough. She likes to get dirty, jump on the trampouline, rough house, pick up bugs and play soccer. Noone has ever told her not to do these things, so she loves them as well. Her girl idols are her cousins Ashley and Katelyn, who are gorgeous sports jocks. She adores all of her cousins — because she thinks the girls are beautiful and the boys are WILD! But she particularly talks about these two a lot, probably because they embody both of her favorite characteristics!

Currently, the blog below is updated by her parents. However, you should expect entries from her in the very near future.

We hope you also will take time to look at her photo album, which contains pictures that we update on rare occasions. New visitors might be interested in reading about Colleen's birth or her heart surgery, or seeing photos she took of her house.

Colleen's Blog

Sunday, June 25, 2006       ( 11:01 AM ) Bif   Last Friday I talked to my Mom and they were working on releasing my Step-Dad, basically so he can go home and die. He's not eating or drinking (for 2 days at that point) and the nurses say that is a common sign that he's slipping away. They said it's actually a nice way to go because it's usually accompanied by a sense of euphoria and very little pain. So I told Colleen that we don't have much time left with Papaw. She started crying and said she doesn't want him to die because she likes being his "Cracker Jack." He has always told her that she was his Cracker Jack. I don't totally get what it means, but it's their special "thing." So I told her that she will always be his Cracker Jack, even after he dies, as long as she remembers him. After people die, we still remember them and love them and miss them, we just don't get to spend time with them or talk to them anymore. She felt better about that, but then she said she doesn't want him to die because she wants to talk to him. I told her that he is very sick and probably won't ever get better, so the longer he lives the sicker he will get and the worse he will feel. Sometimes it's better for a person to die so they won't be sick anymore. And I told her that we don't get to keep people forever, just for a while, like the library books she checked out. You get to keep them for a while and then you have to give them back. She said that library books can be renewed and take them out again. That made me regret the library books metaphor, but then she said, "You can't check out Papaw again." That made me laugh and cry at the same time (which is a weird feeling... I don't recommend it.) So, I think she kinda gets it... or at least as much as you can at 5. I had her write a letter to him. I helped her with the words a little but she wrote out all of it herself. He's what she wrote: "DEAR PAPAW I LOVE YOU I WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR CRACKER JACK AS LONG AS I LIVE LOVE COLLEEN MAYNARD" She also drew a lot of pictures of cars and trucks driving on the street and me holding her hand crossing the street. On the back she drew the planet Earth and the sun and three moons with her and Mommy holding hands standing on the Earth. They both have long hair and Colleen informed me the picture was from before Mommy had breast cancer. I'm sure Russ will love the letter and the pictures. Update: Papaw got to home last Friday. We took the letter to Papaw yesterday (Saturday) and she got to spend some time with him. Lots of hugs and she told him in person that she loves him. Then she went and played with her toys. She gave him extra hugs when we left. She seems to feel better about the situatioin and I guess she is dealing with this all in her own way. #

archives: April 2002 June 2002 August 2002 February 2003 May 2003 September 2003 November 2003 December 2003 March 2004 May 2004 February 2005 March 2005 September 2005 January 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 about this blog: This blog is a diary of the life of our daughter, Colleen. She is awesome and spectacular! favorite links: My mom's site about breast cancer Sesame Street: my first online game site! Math!: This is where my mom and dad get math homework for me