Suela, I'm so sorry this is so difficult.

When they come back (I'm vibing hard that it will be when) can you take the apartment keys away from your Dad? Or barring that get the locks changed on the apartment so they can't get in.

If you can get them back, is there anyway your Mom can be in a higher level or more secure level of care while they are trying to get her meds straightened out. I'm not sure if that's something that y'all have discussed or if it would make your Mom worse.

If you're a rival news organisation, and several former high-ranking employees were just arrested for bribing police officers, you might want to play up the scandal that is occurring at the OTHER place.

Oh crap, Suela. That's not good. I'd be tempted to let your dad work out on his own that giving in to her was a bad idea and refuse to come see them unless it was to take her back. But that's impossible to do when it's really your own parents, I know. But tempting none the less.

One thought: what if Dad needs a few days away from her? His caving may be a sign that he's overwhelmed too.

I don't see that not appearing onscreen together does other than not remind the public that they had the naked shenanigans--they still work for the same station on the same show and they're not prohibited from interacting offscreen at work, right? And onscreen is a small proportion of their work day?

It seems like a transparent gesture, a salve with no medicinal properties.

If they were prohibited from having sex onscreen (hell, even making out), I'd get it. But that's, what, an hour a day they can't sit next to each other? Least effective cockblock ever.

I was just editing a document that had discreet instead of discrete AND compliment instead of complement. I was really starting to think it was me.

How did that effect you?

But we underestimated how powerful her hold is over my father. He finds it impossible to walk away or ignore her

This I can't even imagine. This is his wife the woman he married, the woman he lives with, the woman he's invested in, and just seeing her unwell must be strain enough, but stonewalling her in the face of all that, knowing he is not just living with the decisions, but also living with her?

I hope I never understand what that's like, honestly.

How did that effect you?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

He finds it impossible to walk away or ignore her

In a way it's understandable, even if it's infuriating.

How did that effect you?

I *loathe* how people are misusing "awe" (a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder) for "aw" (exclamation used to express mild protest, entreaty, commiseration, or disapproval).

As in, someone posts "My pet capybara died!" and someone responds with "Awe! So sad!" and all I can think is, unless the capybara was raptured, I think "awe" IS THE WRONG FUCKING WORD.

So I posted that on FB, which led to the scapegraces who I call friends immediately bombarding me with misuses/misspellings of "aw" and all other manner of deliberate spelling errors. I'll get them back, though. I haven't worked out how, just yet, but I will.

What if it were Brian Williams AND Diane Sawyer! Think of Mike Nichols!

You are breaking my heart here, Jesse. That's never going to happen. Right? Sawyer and Nichols seem strong and Brian Williams would never do that! If he strays, it should only be for Jon Stewart.

But we underestimated how powerful her hold is over my father. He finds it impossible to walk away or ignore her.

It's got to be brutal for him too.

My Dad determined that I need "a lecture" on Sunday because I wouldn't let him try to get up and walk without the walker. Stepmom will to an extent. She's with him all of the time and she gets worn down. So she rationalizes that if he's got something stable, it's maybe okay. And it's not. It's worse because it's impossible for him to grasp the subtleties of when it might be safe-ish to get up without the walker. He hears that and takes it too far. I don't even blame her, it's just I worry that he'll fall and hurt himself in a way that calling 911 for a lift assist can't semi-easily fix.

Did the Dr give the PRN benzos last night? Is it possibly enough to help her calm down and start normalizing (I want to say accepting but I realize she won't) the new digs?

Hot band name: Raptured Capybara.