I go to see mum in the nursing home four or five times per week at the moment and it's beginning to be difficult to find things to talk to her about. We still talk and she still answers my questions about how she is feeling but more often than not she doesn't remember what she has been doing earlier in the day, and so a lot of our talks consist either of her asking me questions I've answered dozens of times already ("where is my handbag ? What day of the week is it ? " or me rabbiting on about things going on in the outside world which I suspect she often finds baffling or confusing, and which she almost immediately forgets.
Of course, when people who she sees rarely go to see her, they come away saying how chatty she is and have even suggested her memory is still quite good - she seems to pull out all the stops to be sociable with almost everyone but me.
I wonder if the difficulty of conversation between us is actually due to the fact that she relaxes with me - or is it just that I am boring her and should stop going so frequently. Anyway whatever the cause I would be grateful for any tips about how to keep the conversation going with mum. Or should I just stop trying to have a conversation and watch TV with her instead, which she seems happy to do ? I know from what others have said here that I should be prepared for a time when we can't any longer have a conversation. But it seems that at the moment I'm the only one getting a preview of what that will be like - other visitors see a different mum from the one I see.
Of course, when people who she sees rarely go to see her, they come away saying how chatty she is and have even suggested her memory is still quite good - she seems to pull out all the stops to be sociable with almost everyone but me.
I wonder if the difficulty of conversation between us is actually due to the fact that she relaxes with me - or is it just that I am boring her and should stop going so frequently. Anyway whatever the cause I would be grateful for any tips about how to keep the conversation going with mum. Or should I just stop trying to have a conversation and watch TV with her instead, which she seems happy to do ? I know from what others have said here that I should be prepared for a time when we can't any longer have a conversation. But it seems that at the moment I'm the only one getting a preview of what that will be like - other visitors see a different mum from the one I see.