I See Coleman People

         So today is Fathers Day

 I have been thinking about my dad.  

I am the youngest of 5 girls and I am pretty sure that when I was born dad knew that he was for sure not getting any boys.  That's why I am named after him.  I am named Colleen after my dad Collins.  I actually didn't like my name too much when I was younger.  I would have rather been named Jennifer, Laura, Lisa or my very favorite Christine.  I did like being named after my dad.  And now being older I appreciate my name because it really does mean so much to me because of my dad.  

From my dad I inherited my large pores, thick ankles, straight hair, and a tendency to be very single minded.  I think now days they call this OCD.  Some things I wish that I had inherited from my dad: 

 I wish I had a more mathematical mind.  Dad is able to figure anything out.  Sometimes he thinks about things for days and puts it together in his head and then he will put it on paper and then put it to work.  This is amazing and a true gift.  He was a really great engineer.  

I wish I was as wise as my dad.  Dad didn't force his opinion on me as a young girl or teenager.  When he had something to say to me however he would say, "I need to visit with you in my den young lady".  I knew what he had to say was important and that he had been thinking about this visit long before it happened.

I wish I had the patience to be really good at something like my dad.  Dad never ever started a hobby that he didn't go whole hearted into.  His photography did not stop at just buying the camera.  He was really good at making movies and making them so enjoyable to watch.  These were complete with titles and credits.  His still photography rivals a professional.  And now his new interest in digital photography and computer scanning is amazing.  Dad is also a very skilled carpenter, music lover and collector, car mechanic, electrician, writer, speech and talk giver, and family historian.  He is NOT a great hair dresser.

Dad is a great sport and never seems to get his feelings hurt when he catches us making fun of him.  We only laugh at him because we love him.  Five things that make me smile as I remember my dad growing up:

1.  When a man in our ward rubbed lotion on his arm during church, dad told mom that there was something "off" about that guy.

2.  When he would play music in his shop on his homemade speaker and we would sing together when I would hold boards for him while he used the saw.

3.  When we went to the cabin and slept in cots under the stars in the front room before the roof was on the cabin.

4.  When he would come  to Utah when we lived up there and take me grocery shopping and buy Elisabeth animal crackers and then we would have roast for Sunday dinner.

5.  When he would come to a dance or band concert and I would ask him how he liked it and he would say, "I didn't know you were the only girl in the band", because I didn't see any other kids there.

There are tons of things I could say about dad, but I was just thinking about him today.

Thanks for reading.

Love Colleen (named after Collins)