Oh oh! My mother has always been very extroverted and in fact drilled into us kids the “responsibility” we had to be charming and carry on a good conversation with others. When I have explained that I am more introverted than she is, she quickly assures me that no, I am just fine! (As if being different than she is, is a major personality flaw.)
In her advanced years, with dementia, I am finding that her incessant flow of inane questions is beginning to drive me crazy: “What is that shiney rock? Is that spot on the carpet a bug? What about that other one? Where did you get the chicken we’re having? Are we having company? No? When are they coming? Where is everybody? Where is the dog? What did you say? You don’t have to shout!”
I’m beginning to just respond with, “I don’t know.” or “Maybe.” or “What do you think?” It defrays some of the questions but sometimes gets me a, “Well, now you are getting sassy!” Today, I told her that I need some quiet time so we are both going to take afternoon naps till dinner. She looked at me with wide eyes and said that would be okay. Now I fear that I hurt her feelings but I desperately needed to get away from the noise. As I began packing up my computer to retreat upstairs for a while, I heard her walker clicking its way out of her bedroom and here she came to have a seat in the living room. Sigh. At least she did fall asleep in the chair and I am in my private area because she is unable to climb the stairs.
For The Rest of Her Life 
Wow this sounds eerily familiar, except my Grandma always uses the same phrase. Whether I’m talking to her about changing her underwear or squirreling food away, she responds in her most pitiful voice, “well I’ll try to do better.” She might as well say “Take a flying leap. I just played the old lady card. Bam!”
When she starts a stream of questions, try making a game out of it. It’s not disrespectful if you only play in your head. 🙂