Opinions please: Odd comment from mother/nanna

[Littlepiglet123]

Something I had forgotten about that happened a few weeks ago.
Significant or insignificant? Why?
My son is a rather tantrummy 4 year old. It's very very hard sometimes. As a family we ask nothing of our extended family, we soldier on as I am sure many families would. We love him to bits and are a fairly typical family, frazzled at times (!!!) but lots of happy times too.

A rare occasion finds me, Mil and DM (granny and nanny) witnessing a huge tantrum by Ds. They find it very hard to deal with, but, frankly, they never see it so, it is what it is. DM turns round (my son is out of earshot just about) and says "don't worry in a few years he'll be in boarding school." It's as if tumble weed is floating past, an odd and bizarre moment.
I glare at her and let it go over my head.

After all, he will not be going to boarding school, I never went to boarding school, not did any of my family. We were as poor as church mice so not the sort of world we lived in. Mil doesn't seem to have noticed the comment. Mil sent my dh to boarding school. He said he didn't mind but he also recognises the trauma it can cause and there is no way our children, for all the tea in china, would be sent to a boarding school. My DM is aware it's a bit of a sore spot which hasn't really been resolved between DH and mil and I'd unlikely to be.

Why on earth would DM spout such verbal diarrhea? She certainly lacks tact, she even seems to have a little bit of covert narc traits. Barbed compliments and digs are not uncommon. I guess I'd like to know the motivation for such a nonsensical comment? I'd simply put it down to tactlessness but feel there's more to it especially as it lacks any baring on reality.

What's to explain? She made that decision, she assumes you might and possibly thinks you should. So ignore her. What does it matter if she thinks something so nonsensical?

What decision did she make? I'm lost.

What?

Your MIL decided to sent her child, your DH, to boarding school so she thinks that you may be seriously considering it to. The only reason she is making that comment when your child is throwing a tantrum is that she is telling you, that you soon won't have to deal with it.

It is up to your DH to tell her in clear terms what schooling your child(ren) are going to have and why.

To sent her own child, your DH, to boarding school.

Oh sorry. Your mum said it, not MIL. I get it now.

Still ignorable. She knows your DH went, maybe she thinks it's a possibility and has voiced that opinion. But if it's still nonsensical it's still unimportant. I wouldn't give it another thought.

I think you're thinking she's saying you can't cope with DS. I doubt it's anything so significant.

Maybe she was just joking. We make jokes about sending the DC to boarding school. Nothing's meant by it.

I think the comment was from OP's DM, not MIL. Is there any chance your DM was taking a passive-agressive swipe at MIL?

Thanks. Yeah I can only assume it was to incite some sort of conflict or just a strange dig at mil or trying to make me take offence in front of mil. Perhaps none of the above and I'm overthinking. I don't know. It was a real awkward moment. She knows we are dead against it, that it's so far out of the realms of possibility.

I think that sort of thing is probably best ignored, if you can. If she's looking for some kind of reaction from you, you haven't fed into it. Tis odd though.

At best she thinks she’s being funny- at worst it’s a swipe at MIL. Either way probably not worth getting worked up about.

Looks to me like a dig at your MIL.

I think this.
Was it not just a poor attempt at humour to diffuse the tension around the tantrum?

Agree, your DM was being pass agg to MIL. However I would just forget about it as a throw away comment. My mother makes ridiculous comments all the time