I don't know if this situation allows me to be a part of this exclusive club or not, but even though I'm not a father at the moment, I've at least become a father-figure to my former coworker's two children ever since theirs died in December of 2021, and because my grandpa died when my dad and aunt were a little bit older than them, I know what they're going through. Some of you know I have a difficult relationship with my parents, and that's partially due to my dad's bad upbringing after my grandpa died. Because that in-turn was one of the reasons I had a bad upbringing as well, I've had to work on myself over the years, and now I'm applying that to my relationship with her and the kids. I've occasionally written them letters, sent them gifts, and have been supportive of both her and them in any way I can, and she even admitted once that the kids do like me. When I was still working with her, she'd bring her daughter with because she was still in preschool at the time, and I'd occasionally talk to her. She thought it was cute when she saw me hugging her and kissing the top of her head in an obviously loving way. When both of the kids were very sick around Christmas and New Years during this past winter, she was also very appreciative of me giving them a get well soon card, writing in it that I loved them, and giving them these Power Rangers action figures this one family gave me as a birthday present. The son just turned 8 on the 22nd, and the daughter will turning 5 on July 11th, and I'm in the process of giving them presents when I see their mom soon (two of them will be bought copies of books I rented from the library for them last year). I've also made a commitment to keep their dad's memory alive, and have done so in several ways already. One way I'll do so in the future is creating a memorial/archive site for him so the kids can learn more about him since they were so little when he died. Although she was still getting through her grief last year, I did tell her last September I had a crush on her, but I didn't want to date her at the moment because of everything she's been going through since the dad died, and would rather date other women for the time being (I was holding in those emotions for a while, but realized I couldn't do so forever). She was appreciative to hear that, and handled it well, but like me, she knew her situation wouldn't be good for either of us. Since then, I've been consistently thoughtful without being romantic towards her, all while still trying to date other women (which has led to mixed results). That being said, our relationship has slowly continued to grow, and it seems like as she's been keeping busy, her grief is nowhere as intense now, and she may start seeing me as a potential partner. Hopefully I'm right about that, and I'll get to marry her and adopt the kids one day. Wish me luck with that!