Is My World Just Full of Idiots?

The absurdity of some people's idiocy just never ceases to amaze me... especially when they are family members. On our long trip back from Savannah on Sunday afternoon (around 1pm-ish) I received a voicemail from one of my Grandmother’s sisters (she only has 3 siblings left- 1 brother, 2 sisters). Her message informed me that her other sister had died…. On Friday! Oh, and the funeral is today. Yes, you read it right! My Grandmother’s sister died two days earlier and her funeral was in two hours after the phone call was made to us to let us know???!!!! Are you kidding me? I could feel the anger creeping up the back of my neck and my ears. I tried to contain myself as I called her back…. I calmingly asked why they did not notify us on Friday so we might an opportunity to attend the service. Her response was that she figured I would not drive “all the way down here from Atlanta” for her funeral… Wrong answer! Maybe my Father would have liked to go… or maybe he would have taken my Grandmother… maybe, maybe, maybe… Lady, you might be her sister, but you are an idiot in my book! Maybe you should not make assumptions! And now we have to consider the biggest task of all… WHO is going to tell my Grandmother about her death? And how she missed the service?? Of course, I asked her sister about it and miraculously enough- she agreed to tell her… only she would tell her some time later this week. Well, guess what? The cat is outta the bag as of last night! Someone from back in our hometown must have read the obituary and called my Grandmother to tell her that her sister died! How awful is that? To find out that your sibling died FROM SOMEONE WHO READ IT IN THE NEWSPAPER???? I could have died! She just kept asking me over and over why her other sister did not tell her… and why she didn’t know how badly off she was… it was awful! I called her sister and let her know what had transpired… and do you know what her response was? “Why would someone call her and tell her knowing what her mental condition is?” I just about fell out of my chair! I asked her what that was supposed to mean… she explained that she did not think my Grandmother would even remember who her sister was…Now I am really getting ticked… I tell her that of course she knows WHO she is! She might not call her name out but she ABSOLUTELY knows that she is her sister! Again, the idiocy of people just KILLS me! Why do people just automatically assume that a person with dementia is so mentally incapacitated that they do not “know” any body any more?? Don’t discount her already! She has not gone over “to the other side” yet! I struggle with this every day. If some family members would spend a little more time with her, you will see that she is still herself… you just have to be patient and LISTEN to her words and actions… granted it is a limited vocabulary… but, it is decipherable… am I the only person that understands her? Am I the only person that understands her disease? Please dear Lord, help me.