I'm not a weekend dad I would say more like a ghost dad. My daughter lives with her mom in California. I call at least three times a week. Which is kind of hard because she just turned 3 in December, so she is not really much for talking on the phone yet. I send cards and pictures of me and my dog once a month. I send presents and clothes and stuff like that every couple months. I try to get out there a couple times a year.
It is the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. I was with her for the first year of her life. Her mother hates my guts so it makes it weird when I call or come for visits. It is multiplied by the fact that I live with my best friend who I refer to as my sister and her daughter Ava is like 2 months younger than my daughter, and I see her every day and every day it reminds me of what I am missing.
It won't ever get easy Spikey. My only advice is never be idle. I have to always be doing something. Working on a project, reading, a movie, friends, or what ever floats your boat. I just can't sit down and reflect. Human nature, getting bummed out is easy.
For me, my thought is I just need to keep trying to stay in her life even if it is from a distance and one day she might tell her mom she wants to come live with dad. Or even if that doesn't happen at least I won't have a strained relationship with her when she gets older.
