No matter what mood I am in, it always puts a smile on my face to drop another stack of bags off at Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center to keep my Aunt Carol’s memory alive through a project I created for her called, “Color Your Way To Calm,” helping ease other cancer patients’ pain by focusing on something as simple as coloring beautiful mandalas during their chemo treatments.

Here is the story I wrote around my Aunt Carol and “Color Your Way To Calm” which is given to each family that receives a bag to read and gain connectivity to one another’s joy and pain around the person they love so much…

The Story Behind Aunt Carol & Color Your Way To Calm…
On November 20th, 2015 my Aunt and Godmother passed away after a courageous year and a half fight to pancreatic cancer. The last months, while her heart fought one hell of a fight, she was gifted with a bit of calm through something so very simple. Coloring. My mom had seen these adult coloring books and thought this might be something Aunt Carol would be able to do to release some of her stress and pain.

Let me share a little about who Aunt Carol was. She NEVER missed decorating for any Holiday! Her home was decked out beautifully for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween and Easter. You name it, she decorated for it. Also, she still mailed out cards for every birthday or anniversary. That is who she was. She was also a woman who prided herself in her gardening. She knew every flower you could imagine. And, she LOVED butterflies! For years upon end she painted beautiful ceramic figures, including butterflies, with the utmost detail to them. Her attention to detail was incredible. She created so many magical, heartfelt and hand painted figures, year after year, for every occasion. Aunt Carol shared herself fully through her creative and thought filled gifts and in her gentle, authentic smile.

When my Mom gave my aunt her first coloring book, it was about 6 months before her passing. She took to it so positively. She said that these coloring books were getting her through the rough and painful moments throughout her days. Coloring in these adult books made her have to focus on all the details involved. If you take a look, these pictures to color are no joke!

Back in August, my family rented a house for a week to continue a tradition we started years back to keep the family in tune and together. We are many different personalities, and sometimes there are fights, but family IS family. And we stick together, that’s for sure. Anyway, on the second day my Aunt starts to color to allow herself some calm. I will note that my mom had now bought so many books for Aunt Carol, it was crazy. So, what happened. Little by little, another member of the family grabbed a book and started coloring until, I kid you not, the whole family was gathered around the dining room table coloring, in silence. No one said a word. These coloring books are gems. It’s truly relaxing and a mediative experience to color in them. Anyway, it gave Aunt Carol the calm and serenity she needed, easing her pain for a little bit each day.

During the last two weeks of my Aunt’s battle, she was unable to color anymore. The pain was too great and while she tried, she was losing her strength to do almost anything. When I stayed with her for a few days, she shared how she really wanted to spread these coloring books to other cancer patients fighting the fight. She wanted to share a simple way to ease their pain. I know that, at the end, the thing my aunt looked forward to the most was to color and she couldn’t do it. That broke my heart.

The day she passed, I whispered in her ear when no one was around, “Aunt Carol, we are in this together. I came up with a name for our coloring project, “Color Your Way To Calm.” I am gonna go into hospitals and share this gift of coloring to help other cancer patients experience a little bit of calm during their worst of days. I kissed her. I know she heard me. I saw it in her eyes.

Today, my family and I want to carry out her wish. My Aunt said she’d color when she was going through her chemo treatments to ease her stress and calm her. I thought gifting a coloring book and colored pencils to other cancer patients going through their chemo treatments would be the best way to honor her wishes and allow each patient to experience a little of what my Aunt experienced. Anything that can ease another’s stress during such times is a gift. So, these books are a way to color their way to calm, even if for an hour.