The Dad Who Asked Why

It’s raining again in Windhoek. Not the kind of rain that brings melancholy or nostalgia, the way poets in colder countries like to imagine it. No—this is Namibian rain. Rain with purpose. Rain with a job to do. Here, every drop is a small celebration. We drink because of it. Our crops breathe because of it. Our animals stand a little taller because of it. And when the water that falls in Windhoek finally reaches Swakopmund, the joy becomes something you can taste in the air. A country exhaling together. So I sit here, a 56‑year‑old man listening to the roof drum its steady rhythm, thinking about legacy. Not the kind carved into marble or written into history books. Mine is simpler, quieter, but no less stubborn: newspaper columns, blog posts, books, and a lifetime of advice to consumers who deserved better. For years I believed that would be enough. That my words would be the footprints I leave behind. But today, I watched my son pick up a packet of something—just a simple item from t...

  Once upon a time, there was a father who, one quiet evening, decided to make a special dinner for his son. He prepared a dish with lamb stew, a little bit of mango for some color, and he arranged the rice just so. He didn’t do it because anyone asked him to; he did it because he wanted to show love in a quiet, thoughtful way. As the father set the plate down, his son looked up and asked, “Dad, why do you always make our food look so nice?” The father smiled gently and said, “Let me tell you a bedtime story, one about a boy who saved a whole town.” He went on to share a tale of a boy in the Netherlands who found a tiny leak in a seawall. Without anyone noticing, that boy placed his finger in the hole and stood there all night, cold and alone, to stop the water from flooding the town. He did it not for praise, but because he cared. The son listened quietly and then understood: just like that boy holding back the sea, his father was showing love through small acts of care, even if t...

This morning I sat outside in the soft drizzle, feeling that familiar weight settle on my shoulders — the weight every parent knows, the one that comes when your child is going through something you can’t fully control. Junior has had the runs for three days now. Not the kind that comes with fever or weakness. Not the kind that signals danger. This is different. This is his body doing the hard work of repairing itself after months of discipline, change, and transformation. His system is flushing out what no longer serves him. He is not sick. He is fighting for a better, healthier life. And still, I feel the heaviness. Because being a parent means holding two truths at the same time:   He is okay — and I am worried.   He is strong — and I am tired.   He is healing — and I am watching every step, every sign, every moment. Today I took him to school so he could write his tests. Then I fetched him again so he could be close to a toilet, close to comfort, close ...

  For four months, our home has been a laboratory of discipline, curiosity, and love. Not the kind with white coats and microscopes — the kind where a father and a son decide to ask why together, and then follow the answer wherever it leads. In October 2025, when Junior’s first insulin results came back, they told a story we could no longer ignore. His fasting glucose was normal, but his fasting insulin was high — far higher than it should have been for a ten‑year‑old boy. His QUICKI index, a measure of insulin sensitivity, was low. In simple terms: his body was working too hard just to keep things stable. It was the quiet beginning of a storm. And so we made a decision. A bold one. A difficult one. A “people‑will-judge-you” one. We removed the carbs. Not reduced. Not moderated. Removed. Four months of no bread, no rice, no pasta, no sugar, no “just this once.” Four months of explaining to family, negotiating with school, and navigating birthday parties. Four months of a boy learni...

  This week, Junior stepped into the clinic with a quiet determination I hadn’t seen before. Maybe it was the early morning air. Maybe it was the way he’s been moving lighter on his feet. Or maybe it was the simple truth that he’s starting to feel the difference inside his own skin. The blood tests came back, and for the first time in a long time, the numbers told a story we wanted to hear. His fasting insulin dropped from 37 to 25. His weight is down by 12 kilograms. His energy is up. His mood is brighter. His body is responding. As parents, we often look for the knockout punch—the moment everything is fixed, solved, conquered. But this week reminded me that sometimes the fight is won in rounds. This was a TKO, not the final bell. The knockout is still ahead, and the best part is that Junior is learning how to throw it himself. And here’s the quirky part: the boy who once treated needles like they were medieval torture devices walked into that blood test like a seasoned warrior. N...