I wasn't so lucky, my father was a violent, drunk psychopath. He was imprisoned when I was only two years old.
He never showed up after that until last September, when I had the regrettable news that he had ended his own life.
I had never spoken to his side of the family until the funeral, which as you can imagine was an extremely strange experience for me.
Apparently he spoke about me a lot and tried his best to keep up to date with what I was doing but he never had the courage to directly meet me.
I can only assume he was scared of what I'd think of him, but now I'll never truly know his side of the story.
You don't need a father figure in life, but it helps an awful lot.
The struggle to become a man without a tutor is simply unparalleled.
It's taken me an awful lot of self-control to keep out of jail after being arrested for violence and sectioned for mental health issues a lot throughout my teenage years.
You only get one father, be it a good one or a shabby one.
Whatever the cost and whatever the sacrifice, do everything in your power to keep the near unbreakable bond between the two of you alive and well.
You never know when it's too late.