My dad mispronounced "diabetes" and completely distracted me from the news of my grandpa's diagnosis.

My grandpa is 87 years old and is in an nursing home. Unfortunately, we are losing him to Alzheimer's. He doesn't get a lot of physical activity and, because of his Alzheimer's, will often overeat.

He has gained a lot of weight since entering the nursing home and has since been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

I live about 1,600 miles away from home, so I have long phone calls with my Boomer parents every week or two to catch up. My dad always tells me about how my grandpa is doing.

Well, this particular time I called, my Boomer dad breaks the news to me that grandpa had been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, but my dad pronounced it as "diabetuhs" like Wilford Brimley, which has become a popular meme.

At first I thought he was trying to bring some levity to the situation by mispronouncing it, but then he said it again and I realized he was being serious. Unfortunately, I was so distracted by the fact that he said it as "diabetuhs" again, I had to stifle my laughter on the phone.

I didn't want to call my dad out or make him feel bad while he is trying to manage care for my grandpa, so I haven't said anything about how it should be pronounced.

Unfortunately, now I can't think of my grandpa having diabetes without laughing when remembering how my dad foolishly mispronounced it. I'm sorry, grandpa!