Husband stands up for wife after his mom disrespects her while grieving his sister on Mother's Day

For many mothers, celebrating Mother's Day is a challenging occasion, especially when they are grieving the loss of their loved ones. However, it can be difficult for other people in the family too. But wouldn't it be wrong if the grief and hurt get directed at the wrong person? Something similar happened with u/Acceptable-Change424. The 24-year-old man shared that her mom lost her daughter six months ago and it would be her first Mother's Day after her demise. She was the first-born child and very close to his mom, so he knew Mother's Day would be difficult for her. In order to make it a little better, the man and his wife decided to plan a surprise for his mom, which did not turn out as expected. 

The son shared, "I wanted to make it special for mom and my wife was more than happy to help me, even though Mother's Day is rough for her because she was not given a good or even a 'tries her best' mother. So, the day is a painful reminder that my wife didn't ever have a healthy maternal figure in her life. Father's Day is similar, but she never knew her father and never had a good father figure either." Regardless, the wife wanted to help. The couple got to work and planned a day filled with the mom's favorite things, including her favorite ice cream, a reservation at her favorite restaurant and a scarf in her favorite color.

"We also compiled a little video of my sister. Mom talked about Mother's Day being more difficult without her and wanting to watch some home movies of her, so we did something special with that. My wife also helped me recreate a dance I did for my mom on Mother's Day when I was a kid because she talked about that a lot." Through their heartwarming efforts, the son and his wife wanted to show her that they loved her and would help her through this difficult time. His wife played a crucial role in preparing and helping him with everything.

However, when the couple arrived at the parents' house with the planned breakfast things quickly went south. The mom was disrespectful toward her daughter-in-law and said she didn't want her there. Also, she made it clear that she only wanted her family. The son stood up for his wife and expressed that his wife was family too. The mother only grumbled as a response and the dad wanted him to "lay it off." 

The son further added, "My wife said it was fine. But then Mom started on my wife a few minutes later. After she'd opened most of her gifts, she said she was tired of her being here and her own mother hadn't even wanted her so why did she think she'd be welcome? That was too much for me. I told Mom I should have left earlier, but I wanted to be understanding and supportive, but she had crossed a line and I was done." The man walked out with his wife after that.

The wife asked him to go back, but the man adamantly believed that his mom had crossed a line and this couldn't be forgiven. u/sharethewine commented, "Your mother's grief doesn't give her a blank check to be absolutely vile to other people. While fresh, I'd write down the top three or five awful things she said and send them back to her and your dad and the boundary would be that until mom gets therapy, understands why her behavior was way over the line, sincerely apologizes and actually acted motherly that you would not be seeing her as your job is to love and protect your wife above all others. Seriously, the things your mom said to your wife were just awful." 

u/ravynwave commented, "'Your mom didn’t even want you, why would I want you to stay.' That’s genuinely breathtakingly evil to say to anyone, no matter what the situation is. No wonder vile and evil have the same 4 letters." A few parents who recently lost their child tried to understand the mom's state of mind but they still couldn't justify her actions. "As a bereaved father, I don't understand your mother's behavior in the slightest. Losing my son made me want to cling to those I love, not push them away. And the level of vitriol she used is despicable," wrote u/vingtsun_guy. 

This article originally appeared 4 months ago.