I agree, I can't imagine any good reason to call someone multiple times per day to "chat", unless the people involved have some type of horrible attachment neurosis.
I mean, if you really just call to "catch up" (every few hours??), are you basically giving someone a running narrative of your day? That just smacks of someone who likes the sound of their own voice, or a pathological need for attention.
Or, really, a Twitter user.
Well this isn't really true. My mom has passed, but when she was alive we spoke several times a day. I didn't speak to her as often when I was younger, but still several times week. After my dad passed and her health began to decline I spoke to her often and saw her about 4 times a week.
as she became more frail she felt less confident going out with friends and more burdensome so I helped get her out more and helped her with her bill paying and so forth.
I found as I got older and started my own family I understood my parents better, and really valued the things my mother had to say. Though her body was failing her mind was sharp. She couldn't really cook anymore, but she could walk me through her recipes. She was really inerested in the lives of her grandchildren, and took pride in their accomplishments, so we talked about the kids a lot. She still had a good sense of humor and could take a ribbing.
SOmetimes she called me for useless stuff, and at those times I thought she was just lonely, so I would make the time to talk to her. Soometimes I would call her because she didn't sound well when I spoke to her in the morning and I would have the urge to checkup on her. sometimes I wanted to know something that she had the answer to. We lived about 40 minutes apart and if there was a car accident on the highway that she heard about during a news break she always worried that I was involved because I would be racing back to get my DD off the bus, so she would call to check that I was safe. I was her caregiver, and our roles had become reversed, but we always had a good relationship, and I was happy to be there for her at the end.
Was it perect? No. We had an argument or two along the way, but she was always the mother and I respected that. Because I'm human, sometimes I felt some pressure, but in the end, when I watched her take her last breath after spending quite an enjoyable day with her and some other relatives in her hospital room, I have no regrets and would do it all again.
So, it is a little insultiing to say that people who speak so often have psychological issues or can't cut the cord or like to hear the sound of their own voice. I think that often times people really like one another, and have compassion for one another and make room in their lives for others who need it.
Next week she will be gone two years. I long for the days when she would call and ask if I got home safely, and we'd laugh because she was such a worrywart. Not because I am lonely--I have a very active life--or not because I have a weird attachment disorder, but because I miss my mom.