My Rite of Spring

On a newly pleasant spring Austin day today, I came home to my angst:

(1) Neighbors putting coals on a communal grill. (Though at 5:30pm, are they going to stay out there until 2am? I've previously had to go out post-midnight and tell a loud group at that same picnic table to please be quiet.)
(2) Next-door neighbor sitting in his adjoining backyard when I come home from work (when I have to go out into my adjoining yard to feed the Henny cat and say "hi" to this guy when I've reported him multiple times for his loud music).

As it turned out, the (1) BBQ gang didn't make a sound that I could hear, and (2) the neighbor didn't make a sound, either, though I felt a bit awkward for the few minutes while I was banging the cat dishes out and then returning with the full bowls and water and cat-talk while Henny was jumping on me ("Henny, why are you so bad?").

It was all ultimately alright, and so I mocked myself for immediately initially thinking that things would be bad... Truth is, though, things were often VERY bad at this apartment complex when I first moved in 2 years ago. So that memory lingers.

It's Spring, and I can't quite enjoy the Spring. And I keep thinking ahead to late May, when all of the pool parties at the apartment complex will start, some often lasting until the early hours. Not always, but sometimes. Enough to put me on edge ahead of time.