Today marks a special day in my life, my Dad’s birthday. Most of the people in Namibia remember him as a sportsman. He was a leader, a coach, a gentleman but most of all he was a family man.
When it came to sport, you can almost say he was an addict. Whether it was soccer, rugby, cricket, athletics, darts or tennis, he was passionate about them. He was one of the top soccer players in the country, playing for the mighty Orlando Pirates, where he was known for his precise headers. He played soccer for the love of the game and he always wanted fair play. He served as a commissioner for the Namibia Sports Commission for the past three years and in July 2007 he accompanied athletes to the All Africa Games in Algeria.
Family time with dad was one of my best moments. Sometimes we would play tennis on the lawn or simply throw a frizz bee in the air and this was always fun. He made time for each of us even if we sometimes cried. We were lucky to have a dad like him, he is someone we could all look up to and be proud of. He made us laugh with his different sayings such as “don’t make your monkey mine”, or when having a conversation with someone he’d always use the word “toevallig”(by chance). On a serious note he would say:”Always Practice what you preach.”
To my mother he was someone she could share her life with, and she did, even if it were only for 29 years. He worshipped the ground she walked on and always made her happy. He would run her bath, wake her, made her a cup of coffee and serve it in their room. Their relationship was one of a kind, they were always at each others side. To get a reaction from my mother he would say:”There goes the neighbourhood”.
When I was grade 10, busy with my last exams for the year, he would tell me to go to school with him for an afternoon study, just to get locked up in his classroom. My sister on the other hand had her way and always spoilt him with Saturday breakfasts, and my brother was my dad’s best friend when it came to sport.
With all the family children, who all called him Daddy, he had a special connection. He was their father figure and he still is today. Five years ago he became a proud grandfather to a little granddaughter. They became inseparable, she played cowboys and crooks or boxing games with him. He said he wanted to retire at the age of 55 and make it his full time job to look after his granddaughter.
I recently started a group on Facebook in memory of Brian Greeeves and one of the nicest posts on the wall is: “He was somebody very special...always ready to advise, guide, and listen, even if it sometimes needed a cane and a textbook slap” This group has grown and I never knew there were so many people that knew him, and I’m talking of the kids. He was a father not only to his kids, but to many of the school children. He always listened to both sides of a story before he laid down his judgment. He left us all with this big emptiness and we miss him dearly, but today we celebrate his birthday.  You will be forever missed and always loved, Happy Birthday Daddy!