Dear lord please come and save me. My DM has broken her arm and is staying with me for the foreseeable. Help me cope!

[ApolloandDaphne]

As the title says. 81yo DM has broken her wrist. Her right arm. She lives alone and cannot manage so she is here with me and DH. It has been 24 hours and she is driving me mad. She isn't horrible. She just talks, and needs cups of tea and want to watch Eastenders. I am used to peace and quiet with the dog whilst DH works. I need coping strategies. We stated dry January but I can see that not succeeding. I need gin. A lot of gin!

P.S. this is light hearted. I don't hate my DM I just like my own space. I'm now hiding in the bedroom as she chats to people on the phone. Loudly!

I'm no help I'm afraid, but you might take comfort from how it could be worse. My MIL broke her leg over a decade ago and stayed with BIL (her son) and SIL while she recovered. My SIL came home from the supermarket one day to find about 15 people in her sitting room that MIL had invited for a prayer meeting. One evening SIL was going out to have dinner with her sister and MIL informed her that married women should not leave the house after 7pm unless accompanied by their husband.

I see a lot of nice long dog walks in your immediate future. Would your Mum occupy her mind with a jigsaw or a book/audio book? If you have Netflix put on Grace and Frankie, my Mum is the same age and loves that.

Thankfully she likes to read and has loads of books to keep her going. I have claimed the morning dog walk as my own and she can come with me for an afternoon meander. What I really need is for people to offer to come and take her out for the day but we live a little out of the way in the country and people tend not to want to make the effort to come here.

She also likes jigsaws but I have none that she hasn't already done as she gives them to me. I may buy a new one to start.

It would be worth the investment to get a new pretty jigsaw IMO. Shows you're thinking of her and keeps her quiet. Win-win.

Reminds me of motherland when she ends up having her mother live with her.
Good luck op.

Charity shop jigsaws are your friend

Go to your local charity shop and see if they have any.

@bambooelectrictoothbrushhead

Charity shop jigsaws are your friend

I went round all my local charity shops before Christmas and there were very few available. I am hoping all the new ones people get for Christmas and have been done now will be appearing soon!

Is there a jigsaw swap shop near you?
Can you set her up with looking for ones she likes on ebay?
Can you get a free month of Britbox subscription so she can watch old episodes of stuff (without you)?

@PatriotCanes

Is there a jigsaw swap shop near you? Can you set her up with looking for ones she likes on ebay? Can you get a free month of Britbox subscription so she can watch old episodes of stuff (without you)?

We have Sky, Netflix, Amazon and Disney plus but she won't just watch TV in the way i might ( I am happy to binge a series). She is an old school, one episode a week of shows she has carefully chosen. I can't really explain it. She wants to watch things with me. DH can wander off and watch TV else where ( we have 4 TVs to choose from!) but she would just come to where I was and watch what I was watching. I am seriously contemplating joint the local gym to go and swim alone for hours!

Treat her to a Wentworth puzzle! Or the Stonehenge one we're trying to do. It's feindish.!

@JuneOsborne

Treat her to a Wentworth puzzle! Or the Stonehenge one we're trying to do. It's feindish.!

Lol. Sounds like a good plan. I will have a look.

Electric heated throw - cook her and she will fall asleep

@TheHoptimist

Electric heated throw - cook her and she will fall asleep

Haha. Actually a heated throw is a good shout! She is always frozen.

Jigsaws are definitely the plan, it’ll take her twice as long with one arm
Any fiddly jobs you’ve been putting off? Would she bag up the spare change jar for the bank? Etc

I think we may venture into town tomorrow. We can trawl the charity shops plus there are a few shops that sell new jigsaws. Then I can set her loose on her choice of puzzle. I like a jigsaw too but I will try not to get involved. I will be a selfless daughter and allow her to enjoy is all to herself (whilst I drink gin in my bedroom!)

Is there anyone she'd like to see who lives some distance away and might necessitate an overnight stay? It might be worth a journey to deposit and one to collect, to get a day's freedom!

@StandardPoodle

Is there anyone she'd like to see who lives some distance away and might necessitate an overnight stay? It might be worth a journey to deposit and one to collect, to get a day's freedom!

I think if I asked my niece to come over she would come and stay the night. That would be fun actually. She and I get on well.

Do you have an iPad? Log her in with ear phones!

@Beebumble2

Do you have an iPad? Log her in with ear phones!

She is a complete Luddite. She would recoil in horror at being given an iPad.