If what I've said sounds a little extreme, let me describe the situation. My mother's thoughts and vocalisations go in very narrow patterns. One is the "Hello" syndrome, another is the "I'm sorry but I don't feel well" syndrome, a third is the "Are you allright?" syndrome, and another is what I call "The Inquisition". From the moment she awakes in the morning, until the moment she falls asleep at night. my mom vocalises pretty continually. It is either in one of the above veins, or else it is a complaint about pain.
The "Hello" repetition is especially - what can I say - irritating? It can go on for hours at intervals of less than a minute, at times. I respond and try to make a conversation out of it, but the conversational response from her end is very limited. It's the same with the "Are you allright?" query, which goes something like this: "Am I allright?" . . . "Are you allright?" That reminds me of learning Latin - "Conjugate the verb 'to be allright'....."
Fortunately, we have a number of pets - 2 dogs and several cats - and they are always moving around, coming and going, and that provides her with an opportunity to draw my attention to their doings. Trying to keep her otherwise occupied is not easy. She long ago lost the ability to concentrate on the television, and if I give her a magazine or a book with pictures she may look at it for a few moments, but soon pushes it aside.
So I try to keep her happy by responding to most of her chat, keeping my end up as best I can while also having half a brain turned to whatever I am doing, be it computer work, making food or drink or - heaven forbid - glancing at a book or newspaper, which I don't do very often. I get to feel very guilty about THAT activity, because somehow I am supposed to keep my full attention focussed on her.
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