I didn't see this turning into a story about dementia. It's great writing about a difficult topic. I lived with my grandparents when they had Alzheimer's and I do believe there can be massive changes in behavior. My sweet grandma who worshipped the ground I walked on, hit me more than once.

However, there is the possibility that your father-in-law could have assaulted you at a moment when he had a sound mind - you'll never know.

I guess all you can do is give him the benefit of the doubt now and add it to the list of shit life experiences.

Life is seriously dumb.