Spring Changes

Everything changes. Well, this isn’t entirely true, so let’s rephrase the sentence: apart from a couple of things, many things change. The variables of life ensure a diverse array of unexpected events. So, despite our mind endeavouring to create a pattern in which the items repeat themselves unaltered, we must confront various unanticipated predicaments.

Take, for instance, the shared garden we maintain with our neighbour. Initially, our agreement to divide the plot into two seemed harmonious and efficient. It seemed to work quite well for years until our neighbour, fancying themselves a horticulturist, grabbed some herbs and planted them in the middle of the overgrown weeds on their plot hardly larger than a queen-sized bed sheet.

Fast forward to the present; they tripled the size of this weed-rich piece of flowerbed, and the entire area resembles a cartographer’s rendition of a long-forgotten medieval county. Now, one of the sides of this agricultural spectacle extends as far as the side of our driveway, leaving less than a metre between the wonder garden and our car.

After countless unsuccessful attempts to increase the distance between their shrubbery and our car, we decided to make a change. Their disregard for cooperation - not to mention their responses, such as ‘It used to be that large!’ - serve as microcosmos of broader societal malaise, highlighting persistent issues that transcend our immediate concerns.