[tartoran]

I feel it too. My kid is 6 and my most important goal right now is survive and be able to provide until he becomes a young adult. My father died right when I was 20 year old and while it was hard I managed. I can't image how hard it would've been growing up without a dad. And without a mom is probably even worse but I let moms worry about that.

[maeil]

Staying alive isn't enough - plenty of kids with dads (or moms) who are alive but still grow up without them.

[tartoran]

Absolutely, staying alive but not being part of the child's life is not much different than being dead from their point of view. In my case I have a very good connection with my kid and spend a lot of time together, my kid gets priority over a lot of other things such as personal goals...