Great email. Bravo!! And his response is very telling I'd say...
All lowercase -- is this standard, or is he feeling weak and small?
More important: "thank you for the kind words...i needed that."
Clearly he is talking about your "good dad" comment and he has not been feeling like one. THUS, his trip to the kid's IC really was all about him. And, judging by his avoiding telling you about it and his lowercase email, he's not feeling very good about himself these days. And, it doesn't sound like he's hearing good things about himself from his partner either. Money is tight, he's recognizing the pain of his children, house is probably tense, he doesn't feel supported. Hard time for him right now almost certainly.
You on the other hand are sounding great :-) And, I loved Avatar!!
