Ant Farm Book, available now: Columns: Jake Reynolds

Jake Reynolds, 32, comforts his 9-year-old son Hassan after he crashed his bike in Minneapolis. Reynolds was released from prison months earlier after serving seven years for forging cashiers' checks as part of a cross-country counterfeiting ring. He now lives in St. Paul and visits his son and 7-year-old daughter Lailah twice a week.

"When I got out of prison their mom called me and said, "You know, I told the kids you're home and they want to see you." I was walking up to the door and thinking about all of the things that I wanted to say, that I have been wanting to say for seven years. But I couldn't think of anything. I just knocked on the door and opened it up.

My son, he rushed to me, he jumped into my arms: "Daddy, Daddy." My daughter just kind of sat back. She had never even seen me before. I came in and sat down next to her and just, I just stayed quiet. I didn't look her directly in the eyes; I didn't know what to say to her. I think she was afraid of who I was or who I was going to be. All she had seen were these pictures of me in a prison uniform, big and mean looking, a scary guy. Then, when she saw that I wasn't like that in person, I don't know, she was able to open up to me. Now her and I have just an incredible, incredible relationship.

My son, on the other hand, he had fabricated this image of me as this perfect dad. When I come home everything was going to be all right. Then Daddy came home and I'm not a perfect dad. I don't know how to be. It almost seemed like he was just crushed. I don't know. My goal now is to just do the best I can do for him, whether it is time or trust or some sort of … I don't know what the word is, consistency?"