I'm dying laughing. This is so my mother!

Well, my MIL talks incessantly about her bowel movements!

Come on. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear about the 7 hour bus trip up to see us and how on the stop off she had to go to 'the toilet'. And how she will plan before she goes home on having a bowel movement before she gets back on the bus, to make it more convenient.

I then don't want to be reminded again on her last day with us, her plan. Then I don't want to be told, while we're eating dinner, that 'oh, the fibre is working. Great, now I won't need to go on the bus'.

I then again don't need to be told after said BM that it 'went well' and all is good for the bus trip.

I don't want to be reminded constantly that the jar of fibre-rich food she places in our cupboard helps keep her regular.

My husband and I now have a little game, to help us deal with it, that we count how many references to her BM's are made during her 3 day visit with us.

Wow, I really don't want to grow old, and that be the most important thing in my mind.

Sounds like my 1st MIL. The woman never shut up & could not even talk about anything interesting. Family sicknesses, obituaries for that day, how she was isolated from her family (not isolated nearly enough), yap, yap, yap. In a voice that sounded like fingernails on a chalk board.

My mon used to slip my great aunt decaf for just this reason.

OP, my 79-year-old mom has started talking more too, after a lifetime of introversion. Your post has given me food for thought, especially the part about the beginnings of dementia.

Anonymous wrote:Is your mother alone? My mother talks to herself all day long, so when I visit, she just continues the conversation. I think she's just used to hearing her own voice uninterrupted...

OP here. Excessive talking is a problem with both my aunt and my mom. Yes, they both live alone. However, I did a bit of googling and garrulity can be an early symptom of dementia. Dementia runs in the family so I'm thinking maybe that's what happening.

Aunt is visiting us right now and it's been a long time since we've spent this much time with her so this is our first time really seeing it. Talked to my cousin about what's going on and she agrees it's a problem but we don't know how to talk to my Aunt about it. Cousin says she's tried but her mom gets mad and cries. What's happening is that everything (EVERYTHING) that comes into her head comes out her mouth. This morning she would not even stop talking to chew. Boiled egg was flying out of her mouth like rice at a wedding.

Is your mother alone? My mother talks to herself all day long, so when I visit, she just continues the conversation. I think she's just used to hearing her own voice uninterrupted...

Anonymous wrote:My SIL is a Chatty Cathy who never shuts up. Age has nothing to do with it.

OP here. The age effect is striking in my family, but I'm sorry for you. You have to endure for many more years than I have had to.

My SIL is a Chatty Cathy who never shuts up. Age has nothing to do with it.

OP here. What is the obsession with grocery stores about anyway? My mom and her sister have actually had knock-downs over who has the better grocery store. I mean, there have been tears.

Anonymous wrote:For a minute there I was sure you were talking about my 13 year old son. I have to call time out for quiet because I can't listen anymore.

especially the last part!

For a minute there I was sure you were talking about my 13 year old son. I have to call time out for quiet because I can't listen anymore.

I think if you have lived for 75 years you have earned the right to do whatever the f you want as long as you are not being disgusting or inappropriate or mean. I love old people, their vision is bad and they tend to think I'm gorgeous (I am pale w/dark features so I think my face is high-contrast/easier to see). TMI but whatever, I wanted to share.

Thought a lot of old people like to talk a lot. They are lonely and love company and conversation. But they love to talk about their ailments, super foods, grocery stores, doctors and their youth.

It has recently become clear to me that somewhere around the age of 75 the women in my family lose the ability to SHUT UP. They get up in the morning and start talking and it doesn't stop until they go to bed 14 hours later. Wine appears to make it worse. And you MUST LISTEN CAREFULLY to every word - even if you are driving and trying to avoid getting everyone in the car killed. Mostly they talk about themselves and the things that happened to them in their lives, so when I'm in my more magnanimous moments I have compassion because I think they just want to be remembered or to remember. But for the love of all that is holy, it sure would be nice if they let someone else in the room (anyone!) say something.

If this is my future, I'm doomed. Or, maybe DH is doomed. Does anyone have any experience with an older generation behaving this way? So far it's just limited to my mother and my aunt. No one else we know in this age group behaves this way. But, jeepers, after even a few hours with either of them I seriously want to shoot myself. Is there something more to this?