Frustrated...

I opened the mail yesterday and there was a large envelope inside, you know the large manilla kind. Only this one was white and not manilla. Completely does not matter, I know. Anyways, it was addressed to my old house and the writing was my Dad's. I have not spoken to my dad in over 2 years and the only reason I spoke to him last was because I called to wish him a happy birthday. He has only met my nearly 6 year old a handful of times and only because we were there at the same time he was. This came from no effort on his part. Well, I guess that is not entirely true. He did drive out for her birth which was suprising but nothing much since then. He has never met my nearly 2 year old son nor did he even know I was pregnant with him. He didn't call me after my heart attack or after my son nearly died in a freak accident.
Can you hear the frustration.
Back to the white (manilla) envelope. Inside were three separate envelopes. One was addressed to all of us and one each to my children. I opened the one to all of us and it was a Christmas card. There was a post it note on the inside that said..."Sorry, no gifts or goodies this year....still looking for a job." AAAAHHHH!!! Does he actually think we care about goodies and gifts? He obviously doesn't realize, or doesn't care, that a relationship has no financial committment. I guess the emotional committment is much to high for him.
I know my Dad loves me, he has just never been good at sharing it. I wish with all my heart that I had a Dad. I see commercials, T.V. shows, and situations in life where a father and daughter sit and talk, have a meal together, talk on the phone, anything. I cry. I would've loved to have had that. I try, as best as I can with a complete stranger. I send pictures of my children and cards. I have several websites that he can view. NOTHING!!!
I didn't show my children the cards for them. How do I explain that to my very inquisitive almost 6 year old? I don't know how. She has a grandfather that loves and cares for her very deeply and takes the time to have a relationship with her, even though it might be a little out of his comfort zone at times. She has two beautiful grandmothers who love her with incredible depth, pride, and joy. She never has to question who these people are in her lives. She has people who are not even related to us that show more of an interest in her daily life than this man has shown throughout her entire life.
Maybe it is wrong for me not to show her this card and not continue to tell her about my father, but I want to protect her from the same disappointment and sadness I have felt. Is that wrong? What else should I do? I am worn out from this and have moved on, at least I think I have moved on. It still hurts at times though, especially at this time of the year.