A 9-year-old boy has gone viral after he was filmed honoring his beloved grandad in his own unique way.
Mom Amy Barton posted the clip on TikTok under the handle @whiskeybarton which shows her son grabbing a handful of his grandfather’s ashes and tossing them into the creek instead of pouring them from the bag like the rest of his family.
Barton, from Alabama, told Newsweek that the family gathered in July at a creek in Des Arc, Missouri—a special place where her husband’s father and uncle grew up and played as children. “It was their last wish,” the 49-year-old added.
This wasn’t the family’s first time gathering at the creek, as they had previously spread another uncle’s ashes there back in 2016, she added.
Her 9-year-old son had been observing his aunt and cousin gently pouring the ashes when he reached in, scooped up a handful and threw them into the water, taking Barton by surprise.
“As you can see in the video, he brushed his hands off but what you don’t see is him wiping them on his shirt. He ran up to me and told me we can never wash his shirt again because Grandpa John was on it,” Barton told Newsweek.
The clip, which has clocked up 1.5 million views, prompted hundreds of other social media users to comment on the boy paying tribute in his own way.
“He wanted to hug him one more time,” one TikTok user observed, while another wrote: “Just giving him a few last high fives.”
Other users shared their ash-spreading blunders too, with one who’d scattered their dad’s ashes go at the beach on a windy day. “It went all over me,” they wrote, covering their hair and turning their face white.
“We spread some of my dad’s ashes at the crematorium around a lovely tree and they went all over the lady who was helping us,” another commented.
Thankfully, Barton was able to see the funny side of her son’s goodbye to his granddad. “I am a fan of dark humor as a coping mechanism,” she told Newsweek.
She also explained that the ash throwing didn’t seem to faze the family members who witnessed it.
“I personally would never just grab ashes with my bare hands. A couple of the aunts did also after him, so I guess to each their own,” Barton added.
Do you have any funny or adorable videos or pictures that you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to [email protected] and they could appear on our site.
The post Family Gathers To Scatter Grandad’s Ashes, Kid Does Something Unthinkable appeared first on Newsweek.
