Grandma Wants to 'Spend Some Time' with Grandson So She Steals the Urn with His Ashes

While cleaning the house, the woman noticed that the urn containing her late son's ashes was missing. She immediately called her mother-in-law to ask her if she had seen it.

The woman had recently lost her 7-year-old son, and it was difficult for everyone in the family to deal with his death. They had him cremated and kept his ashes in an urn that the woman couldn't find that day.

She discovered that her mother-in-law had taken the urn to her house because she wanted to "spend some time" with her grandson. The woman lost her cool when she found out how her mother-in-law stole the urn.

The woman with the username marifleur shared that her mother-in-law was very close to her late son because she had looked after him during his last days.

She felt comfortable leaving him with his grandmother because she was a nurse and she would know how to take care of a child with cerebral palsy. She explained her late son's condition:

"He was born at 24weeks and had cerebral palsy & was generally medically fragile."

When her son died, the family decided to get him cremated. Original Poster (OP)'s mother-in-law suggested that they get smaller urns instead of a large one so everyone could get to keep some of his ashes.

She quickly grabbed her phone and dialed her [mother-in-law's] number.

OP confessed that the suggestion didn't sit well with her, so she immediately refused. She stored the ashes in one large urn and kept it in her house.

However, on Mother's Day, OP decided to do something nice for her mother and mother-in-law. She planned to give each of them a locket containing her son's ashes as gifts.

Her mother-in-law knew about the gift and was very excited to have it. Unfortunately, OP couldn't get them made, so she gifted her something else. She described how her mother-in-law reacted:

"She seemed pretty irritated at the time but never mentioned it again."

One day, OP was cleaning the shelf where she had put her son's things, including the urn. Suddenly, she realized the urn was missing. She immediately asked her daughter if she had taken it, but she said he didn't. Her husband also denied moving it from its place and started helping her find it.

Then she remembered that her mother-in-law was at their house a few days ago to babysit her daughter. She quickly grabbed her phone and dialed her number. OP recounted:

"She owned up to it right away and explained she took them so she can 'spend some time with him.'"

Her mother-in-law also wanted to send the ashes to get her locket made since OP couldn't do it. She explained that she had kept the urn in her bag while no one was around.

Stunned at her mother-in-law's audacity, OP told her to immediately return the urn because she never gave her permission to take the ashes with her.

Her mother-in-law argued, saying she had every right to spend some time with her grandson, and told her she would return the urn the next day.

She also told OP not to be angry because "what's done is done," but OP couldn't control her emotions. She was. shocked after knowing her mother-in-law stole her son's ashes and asked other Redditors if she was overreacting. A Redditor commented:

"Respectfully, why would this be an over-reaction?"

AGirlInTheCityy felt OP's mother-in-law made the tragedy even worse for her. She wondered how OP didn't run to get the ashes back while talking to her over the phone.

Meanwhile, beer_and_books strictly advised OP to find a way to check if the ashes were her son's. She suspected OP's mother-in-law may swap the ashes so she could "keep him with her forever." Velharthis009 wrote:

"I'd threaten legal action against her if she doesn't return EVERYTHING."

After reading the comments, OP updated her post, informing everyone that she had received the ashes. She also planned on filing a police report but won't press charges against her.

Questions to Ponder:

Do you think OP's husband needs to talk to his mother?

Some people might think that OP's husband should intervene and make his mother understand what she did was wrong. He would be able to convey the message in a better way because he's her son. Do you think OP's husband should take up the responsibility of making his mother realize her mistake?

Would you file a police report against your mother-in-law if you were OP?

Many Redditors suggested OP take legal action against her mother-in-law since she had committed a crime. However, OP chose not to press charges against her and gave her another chance. Would you press charges against your mother-in-law if you were OP?

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