Biology alone does not create a father. Fatherhood is a matter of learning by experience. There is no owner’s manual, no instruction book, just gut feelings and a focus on making sure children are given the tools to grow and be safe in a wild world. New fathers are nervous beings, worried literally about how to hold their babies. And as the child grows, fathers go through phases, reading to the child, trying to teach the basics of sports, supporting the growing child as he or she enters school. Dad at this point is hero, teacher, security blanket and book of knowledge. He’s the smartest, most handsome, most capable man in the child’s life. And then the teen years set in. Dad may no longer be the most welcome individual. He may become second fiddle, his advice not readily welcomed. Perhaps dad no longer is the smartest or most capable. Lucky dads get to hang onto the hero status for awhile, but it’s not long before that, too, may be gone.