Folding Socks

Whilst I was folding socks after my semi-annual laundry day....
(I do about 6 loads of "unmentionables" every 4-6 months. Some find it gross but I find it most efficient and effective. I've always been a believer in doing a lot in a short period of time so I can do NOTHING (or next to it) the rest of the time. Yes, I have that much underwear--mind you after the 4-month mark we venture into granny panty land--but since no one sees my underwear but Luckey, it's really no big deal.) Since this entry isn't about how infrequently I do laundry, let me get to the point.

As I matched each sock with its pair, I found myself equating sock pairing to couples pairing off. Some socks end up close to one another in the wash, others never find a match, yet others you make do with a match based on color or similar material...some you match off temporarily only to find their exact match in the stack of solo socks you hold on to from the previous laundry doing. The parallels abound. I found it fascinating to consider these elements of matching--both in socks and across people. It turned a menial task into one that stimulated my imagination. Of course, in typical fashion it got me wondering...what kind of sock was I?

Am I a sock that will never find a match? For all my skepticism, I don't buy this.

Am I a sock that was close to my match but being human didn't match up? I'm still convinced on some level that not making it work with V is a crime punishable by a lifetime of loneliness.

Am I sock who will get matched up with a sock only to find the perfect match later? Thankfully, no one will be arranging my marriage so this is extremely unlikely.

Am I a sock that will make do with a match? I'm young enough not to settle but not naive enough to think it will never happen to me.

As I put all my socks away, I did what I've never done before...I threw away all the single socks. Instead of hoarding socks that had no pair--keeping them captive in a dark sock drawer alone while all the paired socks snuggled into one another, I set my single socks free. I hope that good karma comes back around to me. I won't say it was an act of setting myself free, but it certainly felt good not to hold onto those socks any more.