Jumping off point

I understand how men can abandon their children. I didn't before I had children of my own. It just seemed so dreadful. Now I actually wonder why it doesn't happen more often.

First, children are not always loving and kind. Kids do a lot of crying, a lot of yelling, a lot of whining, a lot of disobeying, and they direct most of it at their parents, especially the dad. And those are the good kids. And they can be hurtful, my son has been known to say in a very serious voice, "I don't like you daddy", and turn and walk away. And he's 3. What will he do when he's 10, or 16? But the mental abuse is the least of it. Guys with kids lose most of their friends. There are a lot of theories as to why this happens, but it does happen. You just look up and suddenly you realize that you used to be a popular guy but the one week the wife took the kids to see the in-laws and left you alone to party like it is 1999 that you have no idea who to party with. But the worst is that after having kids your hopes and dreams you hadn't accomplished are pretty crushed. That business you were planning to start up, no time, no money. That tour around the world, can't do it, gotta support the kids. Always dreamed of driving a porsche, keep dreaming. People will try to counter that you can still have a life and have a kid, but every dad sacrifices a lot, maybe not everything, but a lot. And after sacrificing so much of yourself for so long it's easy to wake up one day and have nothing left to sacrifice and want something for yourself.