I’m about two-thirds of the way through Mansfield Park, and my mind is currently operating in a world where certain civilities are required and the dos and don’ts of society are well spelled out. Things that would seem so minor or inconsequential today would be considered gross offenses back then.

And so, it is possible that my judgment is clouded, and I’m too sensitive regarding trivial matters.

Hmm.

God blessed us with pouring rain and thunder storms today. Bill and the older boys should have spent the whole day doing this big outdoor Scouting extravaganza: archery, crafts, other stuff like that. Everything was canceled, and the boys were terribly disappointed. But Bill, behind on schoolwork, and I, eager to have his help with just getting through the day, were grateful for a chance to sit and read without the doorbell ringing and the constant traffic of children in and out of the house.

After lunch, Fritz wanted to go over to a friend’s house. We like this family a lot, and their three children play with our kids quite a bit. We phoned over and gained permission for him to go there for a while. About ten or fifteen minutes later, the phone rang and Caller ID told me it was their house. Now, they had taken advantage of the Columbus Day holiday and gone on vacation for a week. They had only returned late on Thursday, and naturally missed the initial buzz surrounding the baby’s birth on Monday. I was actually expecting the wife/mom to be calling with the usual questions one would have when one finds out that a pregnant neighbor is now a new (again) mother.

Silly me.

It was actually the 9 year old daughter, who frequently escapes the masculine din of her brothers’ games by playing dolls and house with my daughters, asking if she could come over here to play. With a gentleness that belied my irritation, I explained that because I had just had a baby, a baby she had met while inconveniently playing in my yard the afternoon before, I was not yet ready to host people inside my home. I did suggest she ask her mother if my daughters could play over there.

She never called back.

I’m trying hard to assume that her mom was unaware of the phone call. Perhaps, even, the girl didn’t mention to her mother that I had suggested that my girls go over there. Maybe, possibly, the girl had acted behind her mother’s back and after her mother clearly told her no she could not come here.

But since two other neighbors didn’t seem to think it was a big deal that their children play in my yard yesterday afternoon, something that required me to sit outside in the chill with my not yet 4 day old baby to make sure that my 2 year old did not escape the yard (by older children leaving the gate unlocked) and wander throughout the general vicinity, I highly suspect that my own expectations regarding polite behavior in these circumstances is a bit more strict.

I guess it’s just the Jane Austin in me.