The last time I saw you was on 05 May 2025. You didn’t want to go, but the policemen came with your mom to pick you up. There was nothing you or I could do.
Kaboentle — a beautiful gift. You are indeed a very beautiful gift to life, because you are full of love. You have it, you said it, you know it.
The first time I experienced love — or God — was through you. I can’t fully describe it in words, but I know the feeling. I felt it in May 2023, when you said: “I love myself.”
You don’t know this, but those words came just one week after I had made a big decision: to start hugging all of you. For me, it wasn’t simple. I had to plan it, instruct myself, and force my body to move towards you — to hug you and say, “I love you.” At first it felt unnatural. But soon it became easier, and the whole house grew lighter. You were all happier, more playful. Love became available to us as a family.
One evening in the front garden, you were playing nearby. I asked you a random question: “Do you love yourself?” And you answered, “Yes, I love myself.” Hearing those words from you brought tears to my eyes. I had to run away and cry in private. When I came back, I asked you to say it again on video — because it was so powerful.
You said words at six years old that I could not say to myself as a 46-year-old man. And yet, you could. That is the gift you gave me.
Thank you, Kaboentle Mahape.
Happy 8th Birthday, my son.
With love,
Papa