I was barely 19 when my oldest daughter was born. While her mom and I were never married, I made a decision early on that I was always going to be part of her life and try and provide for her. That meant I had to stop playing baseball. It meant I had to work full-time and only go to college part-time. When her mom moved to the mid-west, I had to spend every extra dollar flying to visit her or flying her back to CA to visit me.

She's almost 16 now and I couldn't be more proud of her. She's smart and we have a great relationship. My company has done well enough that I can fly to her or she can fly to me any time. My wife and her have a great relationship (they are almost like sisters) and my younger daughters adore her.

Even though we never lived together all the time, I feel we have a better relationship than many fathers/daughters do. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I hadn't made the effort.

Good post.