I hope my young daughters always view me as their hero, their rock and can confide in me when they have challenges in life. I hope they can look back in their life when they're adults and know they had a great dad when growing up and who will always try to be there for them. I think (or at least feel) that dads who really are strong fathers and actively supporting their children find they have very little time for themselves....and in the big scheme of things, maybe that's ok as you still get to experience life with your children and often through their eyes. I think it's just hard to meet us, because you're not likely to go out to the bar scene and meet one. My time is spent swimming, ice skating, at the library, in the park and of course in the home studying, playing games, "trying" to cook, clean and especially...just be there. Love = time for kids. The other hard thing is to find a way, find any way, to communicate well with the former spouse. If you don't, the children will always suffer the most.