In Defense of John Edwards
By Peter Ehrlich For many years I've had this fantasy - to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with my teenage son. Climbing this iconic African mountain with Noah would be symbolic in that I would be passing the torch to my son. He would start the climb as a child-man and summit as a man. And as we stood on the top overlooking the Serengeti Plains far away below, we would embrace in loving desperation, the culmination of every mile we ever walked together as father and son. My fantasy mirrored the immeasurable depth of love I have ...
How to reclaim your space after divorce
So your ex has moved out – now what? Our guide to moving your home from "we" to "me" Article courtesy of Deborah Moskovitch * Although written from a woman's perspective, this information works for us guys as well. - SDL It was a dream-like experience. Upon returning from a weekend away with our children, the bedroom closets were empty-my husband, now my ex, had moved out. He took the fabulous living room furniture that we had purchased not that long ago. My world was changing. The reality was, I wanted to stop thinking about who I had become upon divorce-a single ...
Good Men Step In To Become Dads
By Peter Ehrlich Special to Single Dad Life My single mother collected bottles on Miami Beach for money. I know because she told me. I was on Google Earth recently to learn more about that "beach-bottle" time. I had a frayed document with the Miami address. After I punched it in, I was beamed down to float right above our Miami apartment. I hovered over the laneway that my mother had to have walked down to find her bottles. I stared at a great swath of sand at the end of the laneway, sharing the pain, shame and poverty that my mother must have ...
Holidays a time to take high road
By Peter Ehrlich Special to Single Dad Life Listen. Can you hear it? The air is so still. And can you see the gathering clouds? Looks as if a storm is headed right for our sometimes fragile single parent homes and, if not prepared, we'll be picking up the pieces for a long time. It's called the holiday season. You weathered the first storm of the season, the summer holidays, by working out an access agreement that was equitable so your ex didn't freak out and have to call the lawyers at $250 hour, which neither of you can afford. Halloween is the start of ...
10 Steps to a Happy, Healthy Remarriage
By Wednesday Martin, Ph.D. Don't call them deadbeats. Research shows that today's fathers are spending more time with their kids than ever -- an average of nearly three and a half hours a day more than Dads of a few decades ago. Kids and fathers alike are reaping the benefits; more time spent together sows the seeds of closeness. But the flipside of this trend is that it makes divorce more painful for fathers than ever before. As one man I interviewed said, "There are no words to describe the pain of not being able to tuck my kids ...
Raising Kids Takes a Lot of Luck
A Dad's Point-of-View By Bruce Sallan Raising kids, like many things in life, involves many factors but luck is a key factor. I've faced recent reminders about this when I attended the Bar Mitzvah of a young man with severe learning disabilities, whose parents had the poor luck that he had these problems. Or, the recent visit from my best friend who shared a conversation he just had with his wife in which they were each trying to figure out what they did wrong that resulted in their three adult children lacking any career focus in their lives. And, finally, the ...
Mind & Body
New Year’s Resolutions for Stepfamilies
By Wednesday Martin, Ph.D. The dawn of 2010 is a watershed moment for what we might...
Misinformation From the Stepmothering Industry
By Wednesday Martin, Ph.D. Books for stepmothers tend to perpetuate certain myths....
Selling Ourselves Short
By: Ben Murphy There’s an old adage that “Life is what happens to you...
My Son Has the Swine Flu - A Daily Journal
A Dad’s Point Of View By Bruce Sallan We just went through the swine flu with...
Read More Posts From This CategorySDL Conversations
Making the Correct Decision - Friend or Parent?
A Dad’s Point-of-View By Bruce Sallan One of the many things that we try to...
Identifying and Achieving Your Goals in a Divorce
By Erica Christian The circumstances giving rise to a divorce may be emotionally...
Is Someday Going To Be Your Best Day
Is someday going to be your best day? I came across those words while reading a book...
Why Teens Need Dads
By: Ben Murphy When our kids are young they think we dads are gods (well,...
Read More Posts From This CategoryLeisure
In Defense of John Edwards
By Peter Ehrlich For many years I’ve had this fantasy - to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with my teenage son. Climbing this iconic African mountain with Noah would be symbolic in that I would be passing the torch to my son. He would start the climb as a child-man and summit as a man. And as we stood on the top overlooking the Serengeti Plains far... [Read more of this review]
How to reclaim your space after divorce
So your ex has moved out – now what? Our guide to moving your home from “we” to “me” Article courtesy of Deborah Moskovitch * Although written from a woman’s perspective, this information works for us guys as well. - SDL It was a dream-like experience. Upon returning from a weekend away with our children, the bedroom... [Read more of this review]
We’re Giving Our Kids a Worse and Harder World
A Dad’s Point-of-View By Bruce Sallan The parents of every generation expect and hope that their children can and will do better than they did. Ours may be the first generation, in a very long while, where it is both unlikely and unrealistic to have this expectation. The world has just gotten much more complicated, much harder, and more competitive.... [Read more of this review]
Christmas Trees, Menorahs, and Being Apart (on Christmas)
A Dad’s Point-of-View By Bruce Sallan This holiday season my wife and I will celebrate our first year of marriage on separate continents. As we are different races and religions, there are usually challenges we encounter at this time of year, so maybe being 7,000 miles apart will make it easier. We’ve actually resolved the big conundrum... [Read more of this review]
Raising Kids Takes a Lot of Luck
A Dad’s Point-of-View By Bruce Sallan Raising kids, like many things in life, involves many factors but luck is a key factor. I’ve faced recent reminders about this when I attended the Bar Mitzvah of a young man with severe learning disabilities, whose parents had the poor luck that he had these problems. Or, the recent visit from my best... [Read more of this review]
Can Families Avoid Playing Favorites?
A Dad’s Point-of-View by Bruce Sallan Sitting in Starbuck’s the other day, waiting for my car to be serviced, I sat next to a mom who shared a “dirty little parenting secret.” Her kids, and she and her husband, have “favorites.” She gets along better with their younger child while her husband gets along better with... [Read more of this review]
Stuck Between My Wife and the Kids
A Dad’s Point-of-View By Bruce Sallan In every marriage, spouses face an inevitable choice between their children and their spouse. It is a classic dilemma that confronts every couple and one that is inescapable and difficult. It is especially true in second marriages, like mine. I have to admit, it is an ongoing issue in our home and one I’m... [Read more of this review]
10 Steps to a Happy, Healthy Remarriage
By Wednesday Martin, Ph.D. Don’t call them deadbeats. Research shows that today’s fathers are spending more time with their kids than ever — an average of nearly three and a half hours a day more than Dads of a few decades ago. Kids and fathers alike are reaping the benefits; more time spent together sows the seeds of closeness.... [Read more of this review]
Holidays a time to take high road
By Peter Ehrlich Special to Single Dad Life Listen. Can you hear it? The air is so still. And can you see the gathering clouds? Looks as if a storm is headed right for our sometimes fragile single parent homes and, if not prepared, we’ll be picking up the pieces for a long time. It’s called the holiday season. You weathered the first storm... [Read more of this review]
E-mail, Etiquette, and Friends
A Dad’s Point-of-View By Bruce Sallan E-mail is so ubiquitous that we forget that it isn’t talking on the phone or having a conversation in person. Subtlety, facial expressions, or tonality are all lost in an e-mail message. I have found this has gotten me in trouble when I think I’m being funny, subtle, or sarcastic in an e-mail.... [Read more of this review]
Who Said Marriage Should Be Work?
A Dad’s Point-of-View by Bruce Sallan I recently learned some statistics that surprised me, but upon reflection they really made sense. What do you think the rate of divorce is between first, second, and third marriages? Think about it. I didn’t and came to the wrong conclusion. It’s pretty much agreed by most experts that first... [Read more of this review]
No Need To Travel Alone!
By Jennifer Doncsecz It is often times very pricey for single parents to travel with their kids. Even when kids promo’s are out there to travel for free or at a reduced rate, not having another adult going often times raises the child’s rates to another adult price. Most cruise lines, Disney and all inclusives require... [Read more of this review]
My Son Has a Girlfriend; Now What Do I Do?
A Dad’s Point-of-View By Bruce Sallan My son has his first girlfriend and I am pleased that he is now old and mature enough to enter the dating stage. I’m excited for him. In a funny way, I’m re-living vicariously my long-forgotten feelings of first love and all the nervousness, anxiety, and “What am I going to do?” anxieties... [Read more of this review]
It’s a Tech World, After All
A Dad’s Point-of-View By Bruce Sallan I love technology. I hate technology. I get so frustrated with technology. All of the above. That’s my generation and definitely me. My friend Marty is a tech wizard, while my wife is still using computers primarily for e-mail. I’m somewhat in the middle with my knowledge and depth of tech... [Read more of this review]
Male and Female Roles in Our Politically Correct Society
A Dad’s Point-of-View By Bruce Sallan I am more and more troubled by how male and female roles in our society have evolved. Clearly, I may just not fully understand and accept these changes, but I want to understand for the sake of my boys. I’m trying to teach them to be men, how to treat women, and to prepare my sons for the current social... [Read more of this review]
Good Men Step In To Become Dads
By Peter Ehrlich Special to Single Dad Life My single mother collected bottles on Miami Beach for money. I know because she told me. I was on Google Earth recently to learn more about that “beach-bottle” time. I had a frayed document with the Miami address. After I punched it in, I was beamed down to float right above our Miami apartment. I... [Read more of this review]
Not Too Old for Rock and Roll
A Dad’s Point-of-View by Bruce Sallan I just returned from one of the best three-day trip of my parenting life. My son, Will, not yet 16, and two of his female friends and I drove to San Francisco to attend the Outside Lands Music Festival. It’s an all-day late-into-the-night, music festival on the Polo Fields at Golden Gate Park. There... [Read more of this review]
In-Laws, Second Marriages, and Baggage
A Dad’s Point-of-View by Bruce Sallan I believe all clichés are generally true. How else could something become a cliché in the first place? Not surprisingly, then, all the clichés about second marriages are true. Indeed, comedy careers have been built around jokes about a second set of in-laws, second husbands or wives, and blended families.... [Read more of this review]
It’s Too Easy To Wallow In Loneliness
By Peter Ehrlich Special to Single Dad Life How many times have we spent 45 minutes in a video store, only to walk out with nothing but a cloud over our head darker than the one we walked in with? Lot’s I bet? Write me and tell me I’m wrong. Often, spending Saturday night alone again because our children are away from us and we are lover-less,... [Read more of this review]
Single Parent Empty Nest Hard On The Heart
By Peter Ehrlich Special to Single Dad Life I find no sight more poignant these days than the remains of an abandoned bird’s nest. It puts my life into perspective better than any other image, with the exception of my mirror. (”Did I rent my face out or what? Who the hell are you”?). In a matter of weeks, birds build their nest, teach... [Read more of this review]
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