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I feel for you! My mom can drain the beejeezus out of me if I allow it. I'm learning that things go better for me if I lead our conversations to topics that are of mutual interest. I allow her some time to do her blahblahblah, and then I gently guide the convo to topics I know we both enjoy. I actually prepare some topics to cover with her! And asking her about her childhood experiences has given me some interesting glimpses into her own life which help me understand her better. I've also had good results with doing things outside the house, sort of takes us out of the "toxic family" environment. You mention your father takes walks around town, that could be a family activity, or one for you and him to do together (plus gets you both exercising, an added bonus!) I do that with my mom and it's very therapeutic, hard to get too wound up when the body is producing endorphins! Hope you find time to take care of you!
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