yes…i guess i have my feelings about that side, too, being the son of an absent father. i never blamed mine for money. my mother never taught me to think that way…or i never found reason to think about that side of things.

i guess on my end with my own son i was just disappointed that argument came out of it, no matter what. and i guess my bar on fathers is low since my stepfather/adoptive father was sort of out of control, and i spent years just wishing he were absent.

i appreciate your words on seeing who is a good person in your family. i think, too, my son is at an age where he’s gonna be finding things out, thinking hard, becoming more independent, becoming a “man” or thinking about it a lot. i’m sure it will all be well, or at least just as it is meant to be.

thanks again. :)