Throwback Thursday #23: My Favorite Friends Moment

"True friendship isn't about being there when it's convenient; it's about being there when it's not.” ~Unknown

I've often said that everything in life relates back to an episode of Friends. Of all the tv shows I've watched (with the exception of Friday Night Lights being like my small town, sports crazed high school), Friends is the one that seems to have been the most relatable to my life. It's sort of ironic that I'd relate to a bunch of New York City people, but I do. I think I relate to their friendships more than anything. I was thinking this week about an incident in college that was a total Friends moment.

First off, you have to understand the dynamics of my college friends. Although I had a lot of friends, my closest group of friends were The Animal House Boys. The Boys were 5 or 6 ag college guys, most of whom were on the judging team, all of whom I love to death.

I lived with College Roomie in an apartment right next to campus. The Boys lived at Animal House just outside of town. As much time as we spent together, we might as well have all just gotten one huge house and lived together. Our doors were never locked--just like on Friends. It was not uncommon for me to come home from work or class and find one of The Boys crashed out on the couch, watching tv, or rummaging through the fridge between classes. Likewise, no one ever thought twice about walking into Animal House and finding me there. It was like one, big happy family....like Friends.

So one Wednesday night, College Roomie and I made dinner, accidentally boiled over some pasta (honestly not an uncommon occurrance....we frequently set off the smoke alarm while cooking), ate and rushed out the door to church. We got back from church, walked into the apartment and smack into a horrible smell of gas. Turns out, when we boiled over the pasta, it put out the pilot light, but we didn't turn off the gas stove. So we're freaking out thinking we might explode. I remember screams of "Don't light a candle!" "Don't turn on the light!" "I'm getting dizzy" being thrown around. In the crisis, we made a plan.

We changed into our pjs, opened all the windows, locked the door (becuase this made TOTAL sense), grabbed our blankets and pillows off oru beds, and loaded up in the car. Destination: Animal House. I'm sure we were a sight to see, coming walking up in pjs, all stressed out, lugging our bedding.

We opened the front door at Animal House. One of The Boys was on the couch, another on the loveseat. I said, "We have to stay here tonight." Without missing a beat or asking a question, The Boy on the couch scooted over and patted the seat next to him. The Boy on the loveseat went into the kitchen to get us something to drink. That was the end of the discussion.

So, Friends fans, do you know the episode this reminded me of? The time Phoebe caught her apartment on fire with the candles (but blamed Rachel's straightener) and they moved in with Monica and Joey. There was really no discussion, just friends who needed a place to stay. That's how Friends was for Rachel and Phoebe, and that's how Animal House and The Boys was for College Romie and me.

That's real friendship. When you almost blow up your house and need a place to stay, no one asks questions. They just scoot over and get you a drink.