Greasy, fried food, he thinks it should be okay for him to eat.

Welcome to the club -- I call it Daughters Whose Heart-Patient Fathers Are Stubborn About Their Diet.

I think we need a better name.

My dad is fond of White Castles. Sack O' ten sliders with cheese.

All but one of my dad's 7 brothers and sisters have been hospitalized (or died from, in the case of 2 brothers) for heart disease-related trauma.

True story: when my Uncle Eddie had a bypass last year, I went to visit him. His wife was there, along with my Uncle Steve and his wife. The hospital Uncle Eddie was in has a Wendy's in the lobby. Because, you know, healthy. (This is the hospital that is consistently ranked as the best heart hospital in the region -- and they have a WENDY'S in their lobby.)

So Uncle Steve and the 2 aunts go down to Wendy's to get lunch, refusing Uncle Eddie's request for a burger. They come back up to eat in the room, and start pulling food out. The aunts both got taco salads. Uncle Steve had a cheeseburger and biggie fries. I teased Uncle Steve about it, asking him when his last hospital visit was, and he just laughed and said "I haven't had a burger in 3 years!" (A line my dad uses all the time, also.)

So he finishes his cheeseburger, reaches in the Wendy's bag -- and pulls out a second cheeseburger.

The fact that they ALL haven't died from cheese-filled arteries is a freaking miracle, I tell you what.

After my FiL had his heart surgery, MiL pretty much forced him to eat healthily. And that worked fine a long as he was with her, but whenever he was on his own he'd have a steak, or maybe a rich dessert or something he shouldn't have. Not big time binges, but cheating on his diet, certainly.

Of course, after he died of malaria, MiL was full of regrets that she didn't let him eat more of the foods that he really enjoyed, since that wasn't what killed him.

You just never know, and you can't make people do what they should, even if you did know.

Welcome to the club -- I call it Daughters Whose Heart-Patient Fathers Are Stubborn About Their Diet.

Can I join this club? And then club my father who denies that his heart attack a few years ago was really a heart attack or that it had anything to do with the fact that he:
1. eats like crap
2. smokes a pack of cigs a day
3. used to WEAR A NICOTENE PATCH during the day and then SMOKE at night

Argh.

I hope he dislikes the feeling of a heart attack and the prospect of dying enough to change his habits.

This is frustrating because I've always felt unspoken disapproval over my eating habits and weight and now I find out that in some ways he's eating habits are worse than mine.

I'm trying very hard to nag and be grateful he wasn't out on one of his solo kayaking/fishing trips when this happened.

As the doctor told my mom when she tried to get my dad to quit smoking after his heart attack--"The more you mention it, the more you make it a problem he has with YOU, rather than his problem which he has to figure out for himself."

Some recent Buffista events I've caught up on in Bitches:

Welcome to the world Mallory James!!!

Deena, congrats on moving forward with the house buying plans.

Aimee's hair looks smashing!

Lots of house selling and peace of mind ~ma to Anne.

Robin is very, very wise.

As ever.

Robin, we never ever speak of it. I've learned there's no point. It's just hard watching him slowly kill himself and not being able to do a thing about it.

Welcome to the club -- I call it Daughters Whose Heart-Patient Fathers Are Stubborn About Their Diet.

Can I join this club?

Yes, but you need to come up with a better name.

Yes, but you need to come up with a better name.

How about...DADD: "Dads in Denial about Diet"? In my case, it could be DADDS (Dads in Denial about Diet and Smoking).