My dad and his lack of polish when he talks

So much for squeezing in a post in January. At least I'm back a lot sooner than a year later!

I'd like to get a couple of unpleasant experiences out of the way. It happened yesterday. Being a co-caregiver with my dad has not been smooth. 

Yesterday, he was yelling at my mom because she wouldn't swallow her pills. I had to intervene by saying that yelling at her isn't going to make her swallow her pills any faster.

He sets a lot of double-standards. He tells me not to yell at her when I am telling her to stop hitting me. She seems to have dementia, but we are trying to get a proper diagnosis. Having dementia would explain her inclination to hit me. Yet, it's perfectly okay if he yells at her for not remembering how to swallow her pills.

He is a jerk. He can be insensitive. He also can't express himself well.

A couple of hours later, I walked own the stairs with a stairlift that my mom now uses. I heard a thud. I asked what the thud was.

My dad said that it was the smoke detector that I had caused to fall from the ceiling because I was walking down the stairs.

Was he insinuating that I'm heavy walking down the stairs? Rude.

This smoke detector had fallen from the ceiling two weeks ago when my dad and I had helped my mom out of the shower.

I shot back that maybe he should have installed it properly two weeks ago. I did not cause this smoke detector to fall from the ceiling both times. Look into your faulty installation before blaming me.

He can be a prick. He often makes idiot statements.

He has said many stupid comment to me since I've been alive. I'll leave that to another post. All these incidents have resurfaced from memory.

He told my uncle a few years ago that he was fat. I was stunned and embarrassed when he said that in front of my mom, and my aunt and uncle.

My blog will now be focused on taking care of my mom and dealing with my dad who has actually been more difficult to comprehend. I'll also squeeze in good things about my life.

Happy 2026! Thoughts and dry eye

Happy 2026! I hope that your year has started off well.

Where I am, we had a record snowstorm on Sunday. Toronto Pearson International Airport got 46 cm of snow. Those closest to Lake Ontario got 60 cm, including my old neighbourhood of the Beaches.

I live in the suburbs. I got a lot of snow. I don't think it was 60 cm. It was a lot.

Last year wasn't the best. I ended up with a stomach ulcer, which required some medication, yogurt, probiotics, and Gravol. The medication made me gag, which explains the Gravol. Since then, I do feel like I gag more when I see something that triggers that feeling.

Weird.

I keep on saying that I have a lot to say. I truly do. I have a lot to post about my mom's recovery from her broken arm and my difficult relationship with my dad.

I will start off with December and work my way backwards in 2025.

I get my eyes examined every two years in December. Earlier in the year, I noticed that my eyes were getting dry wearing contacts. My eyes felt gritty and I'd often take my contact lenses out.

For most of 2025, I wore my glasses instead. My eyeballs felt better. I'd be putting in eye drops whenever I needed them.

My eye doctor said that my eyes were in great shape and that my prescription hadn't changed. She did notice that the pores were clogged under my eyelids by natural oils. It explains my dry eye.

She recommended putting warm compresses over my eyelids to melt the oils. I did that by heating up a mask in the microwave. It felt great over my eyelids, but the heat would die down after ten minutes.

I bought a plug-in eye mask instead for more consistent heat. I use it every day over my eyelids for twenty minutes. It's me time. I like how relaxing the heat is.

I feel that this eye mask procedure has helped. I wore contacts lenses for the first time in months last week. I had them on for three hours. They were comfortable. I didn't feel any grit. 

I haven't tried wearing them to work. Baby steps. I'll probably wear them this Saturday when I run errands for a few hours and see how I feel.

I still use eye drops. I lubricate my eyeballs twice a day. It has been easy. I have eye drops in the washroom. I remember applying them after washing my face in the morning.

Just before bed, I apply eye drops before I fall asleep.

Time to use my eye mask. I'll try writing another post before January is over. I need to ease into writing more regularly again.