Belgians like clean streets

I've had the strange feeling lately that I've been disappointing someone. Maybe it's from the mounds of thank-you's I need to write or phone calls to friends in need of support/encouragement that I need to make (or time i need to spend with the hubbie!), but for whatever reason I've had this unexplainable feeling that I've been letting someone down.

This afternoon, the answer came from a neighbor. And not just any neighbor ... a BELGIAN neighbor. This was the place I least expected it from! Especially since this neighbor has never uttered a word to me, until now ...

SHE barely let me get out of my car before she started rattling off (in Dutch at first, but then in English) her anxiety about the collection of dirt on our sidewalk/street. She prefaced her attack by saying that she was 71 and not afraid to speak her mind.

She was visibly agitated by the fact that we hadn't swept our sidewalk in the last few months, but she also let me know that we weren't the WORST on the street. Our Portuguese/Italian neighbors came in last place, as you would expect, right? They're attending to more important matters, like drinking wine and making delicious food. But that is hardly a solace ...

According to this neighbor, the police can fine you for not keeping your bit of street in order! Apparently the Tervuren officers are a bit more laid back as they don't fine you anymore (good thing for us). Maybe it's because the expat community hasn't been sold on this unwritten rule and has other priorities, like travelling and enjoying life!

Then she ragged on my Dutch husband, claiming he must understand the Belgian mentality of clean streets. I just shook my head, like "sure, why not", not knowing where this idea originated in the first place. Personally, I thought the Dutch were better known for their entreprenurial spirit and tulips (and love of travel, Yeah!) than dirt collection. But maybe I was wrong ...

But finally the REAL reason for her anxiety reared it's ugly head ..... NIMBY! For those unawares, NIMBY stands for "it's okay as long as it's NOT IN MY BACKYARD!"

She explained how our street acts like a wind tunnel, carrying all our dirt and filth right in front of her house, and how she has beautiful clean, white tiles in her garage that get dirty if their cars have to drive through our filth. Oh, the story goes on and on .... you really don't want to hear all the details. I was gagging as it was -

I bit my lip. I smiled. I listened. I tried to understand. But I also wanted to say, "hey, do you realize i have 3 kids, a husband that travels circumpolar, and that this is a NON-priority to me at this point in my life?" Maybe when I'm 71 I'll begin to fret about insignificant things. But today I saw black terns, hobbies, marsh harriers, and garganeys at a beautiful nature reserve, and that's WAY more important than any breath you've wasted in the last 5 minutes!

And I felt like saying, "have you heard the beautiful song of the greenfinch, bullfinch, great tit, blue tit, marsh tit, great spotted woodpecker, nuthatch, hedge sparrow, blackbird"? And do you know where they got their last meal and drink? It was most likely at my well-stocked birdfeeder and my fishpond, which i place the highest priority on maintaining - thank you. And did you know that my girls correctly identified the 2 Goudvink (bullfinch) that fed at my feeder this week?

Let's get our priorities straight, shall we!