My Dad was not an alcoholic but a workaholic. He was always busy working overtime or working in the yard (away from people). This was hard because he was praised for doing so much and working so hard. But he was never there for me. My mother committed sucide when I was 10yrs. She suffered from depression but I sometimes wonder if she didn't get enough love or attention from my Dad as I surely didn't get any. I wanted to share this because there are many ways that fathers can be disconnected and distant from their children. Even today our conversations are brief, infrequent, and unsatisifing. About two weeks ago I told him when he called about my brief separation from my husband and his drinking problem etc. There was a brief pause in the conversation and then he said "so how are the kids?" It really saddened me.