Reply to Only offer to help your elderly neighbor if you mean it

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] Some "sweet old ladies" like my mom just turn on fake charm, but will have no qualms about taking advantage of others and showing little appreciation. [b]So please don't offer help unless you truly mean it.[/b] Be careful what you say because some people take "call me anytime" literally.[/quote]
OP, I don't think that your neighbors don't mean it.  They do.  But there is a limit to what busy working families can do for a needy senior.
Reasonable:  Taking out trash and recycling once a week
Unreasonable: Driving her to weekly appointments
Reasonable: Shoveling her sidewalk after a snow
Unreasonable: Having the grass cut during the entire summer
I suspect your mom has forgotten what it is like to have demands on her time and doesn't think anything of requesting time-consuming assistance.  She needs to be to be educated that when people say "call me anytime", it doesn't mean "call me anytime and expect me to drop everything to assist you for hours at a time".  [/quote]

+1. Your mom’s neighbors meant it! But they meant help with big items, the lawn, the trash, keeping an eye out for her to make sure she’s ok, that sort of thing. We do this for our elderly widowed neighbor (and she never even says thank you, just expects it). No one can reasonably expect the neighbors to have full time, daily availability to help with everyday errands, chores, and appointments. [/quote]

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