A single dad shares his story.

I have been writing a dad's column for several years. My parenting background seems to have included many of the most common challenges. As an older parent to begin with (having my first son 5 days after turning 40), I made the choice to quit my so-called glamorous showbiz career and stay at home with my two boys (a second son was born 3 years later).

My wife was a workaholic and eventually, not surprisingly, our marriage ended. The surprise was that she abandoned the state and boys, leaving me to raise them alone. I found, for all the goodwill out there supposedly for dads, that I was isolated at PFA meetings and other mom get-togethers. Other dads, for the most part, worked and had little time to discuss changing diapers and toilet training a 4-year-old.

Add dating into the mix and I faced yet another challenge. Babysitters, extra expenses, and secrets (when do I tell them I'm dating and when do I introduce someone I've dated for a while?). Did I mention our two big dogs? My wife's contribution was to make our divorce as costly and difficult as possible.

We survived well. Challenges help us grow, and my boys and me definitely grew (my teen is now 6'2" and still going). I met, online, a wonderful woman who became my second (and last) wife this past December 2008. She was divorced, but had no children. Now, we have the additional challenge of a new member to our family, a stepmom with no experience raising kids and one of mine now a full-fledged teen.

I like to think I can write about any and all of the challenges of parenting, having now lived through most of them. But, you be the judge as ... after all, I'm just a guy.

Bruce Sallan gave up his showbiz career a decade ago to raise his two boys, full-time, now 13 and 16. His internationally syndicated column, A DAD'S POINT-OF-VIEW, is his take on the challenges of parenthood and male/female issues, both as a single dad and now, newly remarried, in a blended family. Join Bruce's A DAD'S POINT-OF-VIEW fan page at Facebook. To contact Bruce, visit his new website brucesallan.com.