Conversations With My Narcissist Father
He knows best, he knows more, he knows all
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Everyone talks about narcissists nowadays.
They are defined as such:
Narcissism is extreme self-involvement to the degree that it makes a person ignore the needs of those around them. While everyone may show occasional narcissistic behavior, true narcissists frequently disregard others or their feelings. They also do not understand the effect that their behavior has on other people.
Imagine that sort of person raising you.
Well, I got lucky because he wasn’t around much while I was young. My mom took care of my sister and me. But, be sure he was there to set the record straight.
He always knew best.
And he still does.
“Somebody has to be the adult...”
My dad's decision to move back in came up after numerous fights between my husband and me.
Our credit card debt never seemed to go down, his job never paid enough, and my money was gone before it hit my bank account.
Luckily, my dad opened his home to us to move in for a short time.
This opportunity allowed my husband to quit his job and find a better-paying one. As a result, I was able to, eventually, quit my little server job and focus on raising our daughter and working on my writing as she started preschool.
We run into toddler problems every now and again.
I try not to mention any of them to my dad because he always has some sharp comments that he regards as “advice.”
I mentioned, as a joke, “I wish her preschool offered lunch, so I didn’t have to throw our food out.”
We’re currently dealing with our daughter not eating, then coming home and asking for a snack.
“If you give a child two options, they won’t eat any. If you give them one, they don’t have a choice. So someone has to be the adult.”
Though I understand what he’s saying, and I’ve tried it, the last comment was unnecessary. Just a jab he assumed would be funny.