On being a "sudden" single parent

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There are two things that I miss that are constantly on my mind about parenting on my own.

The first is when one of my kids does something really funny, says something really funny, does something out of character, etc and having Joe to experience that with me fully. It's an empty feeling to see/hear these things and not have him to tell.

The second is having that united front with Joe as "the parents". If he ever heard/saw one of the kids talk to me in a way he didn't like he was on their case immediately (DON'T talk to your mother like that!; "DON'T do that to mommy!") and I was the same way in terms of teaching them to respect him. Now it's just me and it doesn't exactly have the same effect when I tell them they are not treating me nicely. (Spare me the comments of what good kids they are....I know that....but they are still kids, learning how to behave.)

On another happy note, today I'd like to take a bat and break every new window that I just put into my house. And then maybe burn the place down. Yes, that sounds pretty good right now.