A while back, in an attempt to get myself to just fold the danged load of laundry that I had been transferring back and forth between my bed and the floor for the better part of a week, I grabbed my headphones and, instead of going to bed and getting a reasonable amount of sleep, turned on my music and bumped the volume and just… folded my clothes. Simple, right? Right.
Except, I wasn’t expecting how much more relaxed I’d be after I did it. Sure, some of it was the fact that my space was suddenly more ordered. And some of it was the feeling that I’d accomplished something. But even before I was done, when the room still looked a bit messy and chaotic, I could feel myself relaxing. I’ve got ideas as to why, of course. Some are probably right. Some are probably wrong. In the end, I don’t really need to know. What I do know is that I’m actually looking forward to folding my laundry now. It’s… kinda weird. But I’ll take it.
There’s a silly part of me that wants to try to connect this to writing characters, how the best ones have silly quirks and might find peace in the strangest places. And while that’s true and something I would certainly like to channel more intentionally as I continue writing, I’d feel a little disingenuous shoe-horning it in like that.
So, instead, I’ll just leave it at this: the weird little character that is me has found that she finds an unexpected level of peace and catharsis when she folds her clothes after every one else has gone to bed, music playing through her headphones more loudly than she might usually let it.
F.A. Hakimian 