How do I deal with my mom's requests to visit her in assisted living every day?

Ah! The GUILT card! Here you are doing everything you can to assist your mother, and she lays a guilt trip on you - and you buy it! Shame on See also:
Why does my mother-in-law make us feel guilty when we leave her? both of you!

You cannot do much to get your mother not to play the guilt card. She may not even realize she is doing it. I have a daughter who lives in England. For a long time every time she called, I'd tell her how much I missed her. Finally I realized that I was making her feel guilty. Now I bite my tongue, and assume she knows that I miss her. So, don't try to teach your mother not to do this; she may be unaware of the effect she is having on you.

As usual, you are the one who must change. It is obvious that you are doing a great deal to add to the comfort of your mother's life. It is completely unnecessary for you to make daily visits, or even weekly ones. It is up to her to establish relationships with her neighbors, just as it has been all her life. There are activities, there are staff people, there is a lot to do in an assisted living community. And if there is not, she is capable of making things for herself. This is not up to you!

Don't tell her this, though; it will cause conflict. Instead, don't tell her when you are coming back. When you say, say, See you later. Do not allow her to pin you to a specific time, unless it is in the far future. Visit when you can, and when you think you have to enjoy the visit and not feel rushed. Offer no explanation - she will argue with whatever you say.

If she complains about your lack of daily visits, leave or hang up the phone. What she will learn, gradually, is that if she complains, she will have a short visit with you. If she is pleasant, she will have a longer one.

Happiness is not something you can make another person feel. It is up to each of us to find our own happiness. What you can do for your mother is to be there when she is ill, to celebrate good times with her, to praise her when she accomplishes a goal, to help pay her bills, and take her to doctor appointments, and all the other things you are doing. You do not ask for her thanks. Reject her attempts to make you feel guilty.

It is up to you to make sure that this final time with your mother is quality time.

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Thank you so much for taking time to answer my question. I know what you said is true and I keep reading your answer over and over so that I can handle the situation better. The nursing director tells me the same thing. But it is so hard when she insists on my being there and is so upset when I tell her that I am not coming. I have been conditioned for 63 with her guilt. It's not really a new thing. Only it's escalated since she is older and more dependent on me. I have been trying to take steps to limit my commitments to her some for my own mental health and that of my other family members. Thanks for the encouragement and support.

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I am living with this guilt from Florida to Massachusetts. My mother is 101. She lived with my sister in Florida until February. I went to Florida to be with my sister to take her to assisted living. My sister could no longer give her the care she needed. She knows us but her memory is getting very bad and she gets very confused at times. She is not happy there. Our conversation sometimes starts out good but then she starts crying and then I lose it and can't stop crying. She keeps telling my niece and sister she does not like it there and wants to go back to my sister's house. This isn't a posssiblity, but when she cries it breaks my heart. I am so stressed and now I am emotional all the time. My plan is to retire by September and move to Florida so I can visit daily, but I don't know how to deal with this guilt even though there were no other options.

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