“Bana babo kani twa fwa po...” how many times had we heard those words? When he was giving one of his formal speeches, and oh! how he LOVED giving speeches, he would often preface them by reminding us that one day he would not be here with us. Well, here we are today.
We called you Dad, Daddy and a funny nickname that you somehow never got wind of in over 40 years, and now today, we call you “the late”.
Dad loved the Lord. Together with mum, he instilled in us those values through our nightly family devotions. It did not matter what was going on, whether it was Christmas, a birthday, a normal mundane day, we could always count on the day ending with ukutembela. What consistency!
Every time we left home, and on our birthdays, Dad would speak Numbers chapter 6 vs 24 - 26 over us: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Every time Dad received a call in the afternoon, he would answer with a formal “grafnun” or “grivnin” if it were evening. What a formal man!
A good, kind, gentle, funny, peaceful, loving man, Dad loved to dance! He had a signature move where he criss-crossed his knees and hands. Yes! It was as ridiculous as it sounds.
Dad loved music. For many years, he was the only male member of the Faith Baptist Church ladies choir. He played the rhythm guitar, and that guitar was a feature on all our birthdays and now anniversaries.
Dad loved to celebrate big moments and we are so grateful that the last big celebration we had was for his 80th birthday where we threw a surprise party for him and our late sister and we basked in his joy as he reminisced in the oldies playlist we prepared for him.
None of us is looking forward to our next birthdays, which will be our first without his guitar filled Happy Birthday rendition.
Dad, to prove you right, we would like to publicly, though in your absence, thank you for how strict you were in teaching us our “mataplication tamss table” (which is multiplication times table, for those who don’t speak fluent Frederick). Dad would ensure all homework is done and signed by Friday night and would stay up all night if needed, to help us study for exams.
Dad spoiled us. He catered to each and everyone’s needs to the best of his ability. We each had “our thing” that we shared with only him.
Dad was peaceful and it is so fitting that he died in such a peaceful way.
Dad, you were and will remain our guiding light. Go well or as you would say “go welllllllll”. We love you.
Comments