There was a lyric in a Def Poetry Jam poem that captured my philosophy perfectly.

"... But she didn't raise me to be a friend. She raised me to be a man."

That's exactly what I'll be going for. I've spoken to enough of my friends to realize, a LOT of kids don't like their parents. It is entirely possible, despite my best efforts, my kids won't like me.

So, I do what I know I can. Form them into as functional human beings as possible. That way, even if they hate me with a passion, eventually they will make themselves proud. And eventually after that, they'll realize I tried my hardest to help them do it. Then, we can be friends.