Is it normal that i'm annoyed by my excessively social neighbor?
I just moved into an apartment complex in a very small town where I know nobody except for my new boss. The building is primarily occupied by "senior" tenants (seriously, 75+). My neighbor across the hall recently introduced herself, and it's been a slippery slope ever since.
Now, don't get me wrong. She's a very sweet little old lady. I allowed her to show me around the premises and share helpful tidbits of information that the rental office and groundskeeper neglected to reveal. She invited me in to her apartment to show me all the photos of her children, grandchildren, and of herself and her late husband. I was grateful for her willingness to welcome me to the community.
However, the conversation lasted literally 2.5 hours; out of courtesy to her, I lingered as long as I could. She's 89 years old, has two orthopedic prostheses, and lives all alone (however, she has immediate family in the area). I don't want the poor bat to croak when I could have been there to press her Life Alert badge.
But she's hardly left me alone since. She's lent me a hat and scarf (which I didn't need) and is always asking if I'm warm enough, have enough food to eat, blah blah blah. She brings me every coupon insert that comes to the complex (which I don't have time to shop and use). She repeatedly mentions her irritable bowel syndrome. She hounds me to call the cable company and have services installed (hardly a priority for me right now), then scolds me when I haven't done as she advises. In a nutshell, SHE JUST WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!
I caught onto this quickly, and sometimes will not answer the door when she knocks. When I don't answer, she calls my cell phone and anxiously asks where I am. She's known me for a whopping WEEK and now thinks she needs to be my new grandmother. I dread coming and going because I'm afraid she'll hear me open my door and hurry out to snag me into another drawn-out monologue from which there is no escape. I just moved in and have a mountain of boxes to unpack; I also work overtime. I don't have the time or the patience to entertain a lonely little old lady 24/7.
What should I do? Am I insensitive for feeling this way? I'm afraid that, since she's so old, she might not understand or comply with a request that she back off. But if I *don't* say something, I will be miserable living here.
P.S. I know this situation sounds like a joke (or the plot of a TV sitcom), but I assure you it's 100% true.