My mother, 91, lives alone by choice and refuses in home care. I take her out twice a week to food shop, help clean, and another day for shopping and lunch. My neighbor takes her out for Bingo another day. Some of my issues are that she is constantly coming up with reasons to go to the doctor on another day and it usually winds up being nothing. She expects me to add more time to take her out because she's bored and anxious (but won't take her prescribed medication for it), so I wonder if these symptoms are real or faked to get more interaction. She is completely absorbed with herself and wants her own way, pretending often that she needs more care than she does.
If so, please share any advice you may have to nip this behavior in the bud. I don't want to under or over react, but I do want to have a better balance and reasonable expectations that don't overtake my own family.
Thank you for any input!
Is there any way you can get her involved in a Senior Center or church group? Our city has a group of Senior Citizen volunteers who work at a food/clothing bank sorting, folding, etc. The oldest lady there is 103. A community transit bus picks them up and drops them off. One lady has been a volunteer there for 20 years.