Equally, I wonder how easy it is to line up with being a good father?
Precisely. One always misses the school fete, where son wins Gold in the Egg and Spoon race, and the birthdays, and doesn't know if he will be able to play Father Christmas ( Oops ! you do believe in Father Christmas, don't you ?) until Boxing Day - when you know now that you did, the "standby" phone didn't ring at the wrong time.
Still, my two sons are successfully earning far more than I did at their age - and I don't mean just because of inflation, they have better paid jobs, and job security, than an Airline Captain - so I must have done something right.
Also - I always thought that the job was a marriage saver, one got away from each other for short spells, which can be good, if not necessary (!) and homecoming was often like a new Honeymoon. Sadly - the other side of the coin is "Whilst The Cats' Away, The Mice Do Play" - but don't start me on that.