attending wake/funeral for partners grandfather. do i need to go to both wake sessions?
hi so my (28F) partners (26M) grandfather had a terminal illness for the entirety of our 4 year relationship and has recently just passed away. there are 2 sessions for the wake, one in the morning and one in the evening, then the funeral is the day after in the morning. in between the wake sessions, the family is also going to get lunch. my question is is it okay to attend one session of the wake, maybe go to the lunch, and go to the funeral? he expects me to be at both wake sessions (at least based on our conversations) but i am currently studying for the bar exam (which i have failed before so i already have anxiety about missing study time) and its an hour and a half drive (3 hours total) so i would be missing study time from that too. he was kind of close with his grandpa but not super close, he isnt upset given he was ill for so long, hes been golfing/out with his friends this whole week while home, and he is not religious. his family doesnt know i failed the bar exam (they are quite judgey and have made fun of people they know that failed so i didnt want them to know any of my personal/career issues) so i dont even have a reason he would give his family that i would only attend one of the 2 wake sessions and possibly miss lunch (so 1 wake session and the funeral would be my attendance). is that okay??? thank you!!!
TLDR; My BFs grandfather passed away after a long terminal illness. There are 2 wake sessions in 1 day, plus a family lunch between them, and the funeral the next morning. I’m studying for the bar exam and the events require a 3-hour round-trip drive, so attending everything would take a significant amount of time. Would it be acceptable to attend 1 wake session and the funeral (and maybe skip the lunch/other wake session), or is that generally considered inappropriate for a long-term partner?
Posted Jun 14, 2026, 12:19 PM UTC