The Eternal Optimist

I wondered when I would be able to write this article because I want it to be absolutely flawless and to express my genuine feelings about this person who was once in my life, but after this past weekend, the precise words just seem to effortlessly appear on paper.

Recently we had a thanksgiving service for a life well lived, my father, and it served every bit the purpose which it was intended to serve. It was a light-hearted, intimate ceremony which left us reminiscing about the great man that was Professor Thomas Tlou. The pastor, the church choir, family and friends, we all gave thanks to God for having had the privilege to meet such a man in our lifetime. And while all the speakers summed it up perfectly, it is my turn to give my personal thanks in my own words and here I say this:

- I give thanks to God for having had such an awesome, generous, loving, caring and great father,

- I thank God that I was given 25 years with him, and while some may say 25 years is a short time comparatively, I say that my father’s love is still extremely alive and vibrant in my memories, thoughts and daily life that it will be engraved in my mind and soul for a million and one more years to come, even beyond my lifetime,

- I thank you God for a selfless father who would strive to be the best father, husband, friend and man that he could be on a daily basis,

- I thank you oh dear God for the hardworking, beloved father who once walked the earth, for he helped build a nation, he helped build education in Botswana and played a significant role in the strengthening of educational institutions and services in Southern Africa,

- I thank you God for giving me a father who, although was extremely successful, still remained incredibly humble, teaching me the true value and worth of a man’s heart and soul,

- I thank God for having had a father who, even when all odds were against him and obstacles stood firm in his path, still remained eternally optimistic,

- And finally I thank you God for allowing me to learn from this man, to learn from one of your angels. Some called him a friend, my mother called him a husband, my brethren called him a father, relatives called him an uncle, cousin and son, and a certain student once honoured him as the "teacher of his teachers". But to me.....to me, dear God, this man was much more than that.....which is why I call him The Eternal Optimist.