My sister always likens talking to my alcoholic mother and codie father as a lesson in futility. There could be a bunch of bananas sitting there and you say "Bananas!" and they scream back, "Apples!" And no matter how many times you say "Bananas!" because you are right, they are always going to scream back "Apples!" Whenever I get the urge to talk some sense to my parents, I say to myself, "Apples/Bananas!" and I decide to stay surfacy in conversation.