Narcissist In A Nutshell

It's not the most extreme or terrible example of my father as narcissist, but I think it does a good job of demonstrating his attitude toward life.

First, a bit of background. When I was about 11 years old, my father suddenly decided he liked mushrooms and green peppers. Before that we NEVER ate them because he didn't like them. However, now that he did like them, all food dishes now needed to include mushrooms and green peppers, along with onions, whenever possible. I had a problem. I didn't like mushrooms or green peppers or onions.

So, one night we were at a pizza parlor preparing to order. My father, of course, wanted a supreme pizza with, of course, mushrooms, green peppers and onions. I asked if we could get half without the mushrooms, green peppers and onions. The answer was no. This was before my mother adopted all of my father's narcissistic qualities, so she advocated for me. This time the answer was an angry NO! Because both he and my mother liked the extra toppings, it meant that he would have to eat 1 or 2 slices from the half without all the things he liked and he wasn't going to do that. My mother even went so far as to suggest she only eat pieces without the extra toppings so all his pieces would have what he wanted. That also was unacceptable because he didn't want his wife to have to give up something she wanted.

I became very good at removing and eating around foods I didn't like.