the marriage of an undomestic

Several times this semester, my best friend has called me with somber news.

"Avalanche happened again," my morose friend would say. And I'd know exactly what she meant.

She had these metal, grate shelves in her closet piled high with t-shirts, sweatshirts, pajamas -- anything that couldn't be hung up -- and when she said avalanche, she meant it in the most literal term possible. So when she sent me a picture of the clothes spilling out of her closet in layers, I knew what I had to do.

But she wouldn't have anything to do with it. So I kind of disobeyed her. I haven't exactly been where she is, smack dab in the middle of her last semester of grad school, working a demanding job, and trying to fulfill her practicum hours before graduation, but I've been close. Sickness has hit me at the worst inconvenient times like it did for her last week.

And when all of that stuff is happening at once, even normally fairly clean people can justly let laundry slide in favor of acing a midterm, and double their bed as a dining room table, closet, desk, and more when deadlines are looming. There's no judgment or harm in it at all -- you gotta do what you gotta do. In fact, I have called her numerous times in our 10+ year friendship, practically in tears, begging her to just come sit on my bed and talk me through the cleaning. That's what friends are for!

So this weekend, against her protests, I came for a visit as planned, but decided to drop in a few hours early and make my friend's life just a little easier. Here's what happened (and again, don't judge. Judgment is not cool):

I didn't take a before picture of the closet, but that's just the beginning of an avalanche. It all snowballs from there! I forced her to get rid of two bags of goodwill clothing and bags, and we reorganized her bathroom, too. There's no better feeling than a clean living space after it's been a little on the wayside. I'm so glad I could bless her in that way. It was just my way of paying forward everything she's done for me in our friendship.

Love you, Lelj!