Who's Your Daddy??

Is my real dad dead? Oh boy...what do I say to that one? My six year old son asked me this exact question a few days ago. It took everything for me to tell him that he wasn't dead, even though his father is nowhere to be found. How do I tell my son that his father just doesn't care that he is alive? Being the curious little boy that he is, he also asks me what his dad looks like. Just as I start thinking that I'm going to have to dig out a picture of him soon, he sees a friend and runs over to him to play. Whoa...that was a close one!! I have to hear these questions from both of my sons from time to time, and it never gets any easier. When they ask these questions, I am always tempted to start ranting about how he never calls, never pays child support, or never acknowledges their birthdays. I could say those things, but I don't. I am hoping that as time goes on, they will see for themselves what kind of person their father is. I believe all children deserve a father, but they are better off without one if they don't act like a father. In my mind their father is dead, and I am just fine with raising my boys without a negative influence.