AIBU about Mil funeral?

[Shellywelly1973]

I don't know if this is a problem due to different views/ culture / individual choice.

Mil died last week. Im devastated. I was her Carer for 3 years. We had a quirky, caring & respectful relationship.

Dp & Sil really didn't give a shit. Mil wasn't a good mum but for last 10 years she'd really tried to make amends. She was an excellent grandmother.

Dp & Sil have scrimped on the funeral. There's only a hearse. I've offered to pay for a limo but Sil said no. Dp & Sil are both tight gits but this takes the piss. There's no wake organised- again i offered to organise & pay for it but Sil said she'd do it but hasn't. Theres no order of service. Cheap flowers off the internet... That sort of thing.

I see it as a lack of thought & respect for their mother. They are blaming each other & winding each other up. No one is actually doing anything. Dp i& Sil took what they wanted out of Mil house. I've cleared it. Even pulling up carpets etc- Im 23 weeks pregnant.

I must point out neither would have to pay for anything as once everything is sorted all costs will be covered.
So AIBU?? Im angry at both of them. I have distanced myself from all funeral arrangments as so embarressing. Do i need to step back as she wasn't my mum & accept my background means a funeral is considered as equal to a wedding. Dp i& Sil are entitled to organise or not organise their mothers funeral any way they like. Cultures have very different views on funerals but i feel they are just Lazy, disorganised & mean...!

YABU

If you have your own car I don't understand why you need to travel in an undertakers' car. We didn't bother with them when my mother died, it seemed a waste of money. Similarly we didn't really do flowers, they seemed inappropriate & just had the cheapest coffin as she was cremated. Cars & flowers & order of services did not seem at all important as we were all so shocked & just trying to get through the days leading up to her cremation (she died completely unexpectedly).

I would tread with care. You say your MiL was not a good mother, you do not know exactly what went on, you care for your MiL, but what happened during your DP and SiLs childhood must run deep. Perhaps they feel it would be hypocritical to have a big showy funeral and then having to stand around afterwards listening to everyone saying nice things about the deceased would just stick in their throats?

With all respect, you came in at the end of her life, the final 10 years, a lot of water went under the bridge before you came into her life. I just would send some nice flowers from you.

Congratulations on your baby by the way :)

Obviously only my opinion on funerals - large floral gestures are a complete waste of money, over priced flowers left to rot and die in a cemetery. I think the time to make these gestures are to buy them when the person is alive and can enjoy them. I'm sure what you did for your MIL when she was alive and the love and respect you offered her was far more important to her than what happens when she is gone.

Hold onto the fact that all the years you were caring and making time for her is far more important than a few hours for her funeral.

My condolences OP

I'm sorry you're so upset about your mil. But no 10 years of sobriety and being a good granny doesn't wipe out whatever hurt went on in your sils and their siblings childhood. You need to step back, remember that you had a completely different relationship with her than her children, who were brought up by her. Do whatever you think appropriate from your kids re flowers.

The past couple of funerals I've been to haven't had a funeral car for family and I'm from a culture that quite likes a good funeral.

Good luck with the upcoming birth.

You're clearly upset, but this really is not your fight and not really your business. You have no real idea of what happened to your DP and SIL when they were younger. Step back and leave everything to your DP and SIL. Thinking practically, your MIL is no longer here and will not care. I can't imagine why you think anyone would see the funeral as a reflection on you though.

Can you organise something special from you only. Stunning flower display.

Is it too late to organise the wake?

OP i think your DP is being massively unreasonable and unkind leaving the donkey work of clearing his mothers house to you. Preg or not. I think this is the bigger issue here tbh.

The issue of how much he cared for his mother and therefore how much effort he wants to put into the funeral is his own affair though.

His mother is dead and wont know anything about her funeral. His DP is still alive and being treated like shite though. Not on.

I think you need to take a HUGE step back actually. You are allowing yourself to be very burdened by all this. You should have let him get the bill from the council, and you must let go and leave him and his sister to sort the funeral. It wont be a reflection on you. Presumably anyone who's interested will know you were her carer, and did your bit. Just send a big bunch of flowers and then start work on getting a bit more respect from your DP please.

Do you know her friends? If so can you arrange a coffee morning or something for them to get together and celebrate her life. I am sorry for your loss.

I agree with most posters - this is their mother, and funeral arrangements (or not) will not reflect on you at all. Why on earth would it? I have never been to a funeral and assumed the DIL to have had much or any input.
I haven't seen my father for 30 years (except once in that time) and I have to say I would be seriously pissed off if my SIL/BIL tried to get me to make amends, be considerate or caring about his funeral, or to coerce me out of a way of feeling which I feel quite justified in having for him. (and it is justified, just as your dps or SILs may be).

Back off, let them do the funeral in the way they feel fit for their mother, and do a floral arrangement or newspaper announcement in your way.

Leaving the clearing of the hosue to a pregnant woman though is not on. You should not be doing that, regardless of your feelings for MIL - solely becasue of your pregnancy.

Agree with most of the other posters, you shouldn't have had to clear the house, but the funeral arrangements are for the kids to do, not you. I wouldn't normally comment on anything like this but it struck a chord with me as I don't speak to my mother (abuse) but have to put up with my sister's comments about how wonderful she is and all her friends saying she's so lucky to have such a great mum/grandmum. They don't know her like I do, I'm going to guess that you don't know MIL like your DP & SIL do. You should take a step back and consider that there are things that happened that they haven't told you, or haven't described to you how much it affected them.

are you expecting a lot of people to turn up for the funeral?

I agree you know your MIL in a totally different way from your dp and SIL, is it about not respecting her or is it about the money?

If she was a bad mother, I can see why they don't want to spend too much money on her funeral and I don't think that you should interfere too much just because you got on with her in the last few years of her life. I understand that it's upsetting for you though.

Unless your MIL's funeral is today, I don't think you can assume that your SIL won't arrange anything for afterwards just because she hasn't done anything yet (I arranged something for my own MIL at the last minute). I don't think that a hearse is necessary. You can buy expensive flowers for her.

My grandfather died last month. He was adored by everyone, including the 8 grandchildren who organised his funeral.
But we also got 'cheap' flowers from the internet, used our own cars instead of hiring a limo and didn't have a wake.
It wasn't a sign of not loving him, it was a sign of the extortionate mark-ups the undertakers were trying to put on everything.
Funerals seem to be only second to weddings to make the pound signs flash in peoples' eyes. Probably worse, in fact, because the quote we got for the limo to follow the car from the house to the church is about what you would pay for a days hire for a flash car and driver for a wedding.

In the end, the day was lovely. I very much doubt anyone noticed the flowers were ordered online, and in any case, they were only on show for an hour, and people were FAR more focused on their own personal reflection than totting up how much the day must have cost.

When I die. I don't want a big event. I don't want extra cars and things like that which aren't important. A small service, donations to a charity in lue of flowers, and a small gathering afterwards of close family so they can comfort each other or celebrate depending on how mean I've been to them...

Putting on a big show can be as much about the people doing it as the person who died.

How are you doing today?

Your SIL only lives 2 hours away - some people commute that to work! She should have come up to do the house clearance. You should have told your DP to take unpaid leave to do it (though why he couldn't do it on his regular days off I'm not sure?!) leaving you to do it is shitty behaviour - leaving you to do it all at 23 weeks pregnant is totally disgraceful behavior.

Have either of them shown you any compassion for the loss you are feeling? Have either of them shown you any gratitude for caring for their mother? Have either of them shown you any gratitude for dealing with the house?

I just love how caring for her was left to you, how cleaning up afterwards was left to you... but now they want to organise the funeral in their way/it's none of your business. Hypocritical.

Whatever the feelings of her children you were her carer and you are feeling your bereavement very deeply. My mum nursed my dad's mum till her death when all of her kids couldn't be arsed and after her death she was just shunted to the background.
I really do understand your problem. My family are of solid working class stock where "a good send off" is non-negotiable - my poncey twat ex found the whole thing "tawdry".
For the sake of your own sanity and your baby you probably need to step back and let them do it their way. It really is no reflection on your respect or affection for her.

Firstly, sorry for your loss and i wish you the very best. YANBU but i don't think you have much of a choice in this instance which is a real shame as the funeral is such a big part of many people healing process and the last time many people feel that they connect with the lost one.
you need to make your peace with your feelings and her memory as ultimately that is all you are left with when its all done and dusted.
Karma will take care of the rest... good luck x

I just need to point out that i in no way presume i feel the loss of my Mil greater then Dp or Sil.

Dp & Sil are damaged due to Mil behaviour whilst they were children. Her death has opened a really massive can of worms. I had a very similar childhood to them. My mother still drinks a bottle of vodka a day. Has done for 25 years. She will never stop at least Mil did.

I also need to printout the funeral wont cost Dp or Sil a penny. If they do spend anything they will claim it back from Mil estate.

I have offered to organise & pay for a gathering after the crematorium but Sil turned me down.

I have stepped back but Im still upset. Mil expected nothing in her life & got nothing...her funeral is actually just like her life...She deserved better. She knew i loved her.

She didn't have any close friends. When she stopped drinking she kept herself to herself. She only dealt with family. She has 2 sisters who were her companions.

Its all a shame really, shows me life is too short!

Perhaps you can try to take some comfort from the fact that your Mil knew you cared for her while she was still alive, and she appreciated everything you did to help her.

It's difficult to tell how much of dp and SiL 's behaviour is due to deep rifts and unforgivable hurt, and how much is just them being tight.

Looking longer term, your Dp' s attitude is worrying given that you are pregnant.

The council told me if the house wasn't clear of all furniture & carpets, we would be sent a bill for clearing the house.

Which you would, of course, refuse to pay. It's not your debt. The money would come from your mother-in-law's estate, if any, and therefore (indirectly) from your husband and sister-in-law who are presumably the residual beneficiaries. If there wasn't enough money in the estate to pay (after funeral costs, there's a strict hierarchy of who gets paid) then the council would go spin. There is no situation in which you would be liable.

She should have come up to do the house clearance.

Why? The council would have done it. The council would either have been paid from the estate or had to swallow the cost themselves. No-one had to do it, and no-one has to pay.

I think it is true that funerals mean more to you than to many people, so you are especially upset. You are not going to win on the funeral, as it is shared with others who have had a very different experience of your MIL and quite possibly a different style of marking such things anyway.

Why not find your own way to make a memorial to her? You can have a tree planted, perhaps in a green burial site, and use that as a place to remember her. Or make a book of photos and her favourite sayings, recipes, whatever. You can show it to your baby when s/he is older.

Find another way to honour the memory of the woman you loved, just for you.

You have a baby coming, it is not a good time for a festering row with DP or for you to get exhausted.