The sudden arrival of spring

You know that feeling when all you want is a bit of peace and quiet? Well, this past weekend, that felt more out of reach than ever. It all started Friday afternoon, and honestly… it still hasn’t really stopped.

Friday night, the neighbors threw a full-on “Tokkie” party. Loud, trashy Dutch music blasted through the street until 1:30 a.m., filled with lyrics that made your ears bleed. Words like “slut,” “whore,” and “bitch” were flying around like it was nothing. And all of that—for a boy who’s turning fifteen next week. I could barely believe it, but then again… knowing the kind of family that lives there, I sort of could.

But it had already started earlier that day. A party tent was delivered, complete with a smoke machine. And of course, they had to test out their massive speakers right away. At the same time, a huge dumpster was placed directly across from my mother’s house—for a new resident who apparently feels the need to renovate everything before moving in. These days, nothing is ever good enough, even if the interior is only a few years old.

The next morning, the chaos began early. Someone was power-washing their patio for hours. Meanwhile, just behind the garden, a hedge trimmer and leaf blower were roaring away, clearing out so-called weeds along the longest apartment building in the country—which stands only a few meters behind my mother’s backyard. So yeah, it basically felt like they were in our garden.

The building itself also sprang to life. Upstairs, a family had guests over, including three kids who—naturally—started playing on the little field right next to the garden. All the while, cyclists and pedestrians kept flowing through the alleyways surrounding the house, like they do pretty much every day. Across the street, the new resident was busy chiseling tiles out of the bathroom. Someone else was sweeping their patio. And then, of course, the neighbor kids came out to play in their garden too.

It just wouldn’t stop…

And to top it all off: at least eight trains blaring their horns, several sirens in recent days due to nearby fires, and a police helicopter circling the neighborhood—again, nothing new. With the nice weather, the highways around the city were buzzing with even more motorcycles than usual. This afternoon, a man randomly started yelling into a megaphone, which immediately got a group of kids all riled up. And as if it wasn’t loud enough already, the neighbor decided to have a long phone call in her garden—on speakerphone, of course.

Peace and quiet? That’s just a myth when you live in the city..