The best friendships aren’t fifty-fifty every day. They’re a hundred percent from whoever has more to give that week.

Fairness in a friendship is measured over years rather than weeks. There will be stretches where one of you carries more, because one of you has exams or a sick parent or a job that eats everything. Insisting on an even split during those stretches turns care into accounting. What matters is that the direction reverses over time.

If a friend is in a hard season, give more than your share for a while and say nothing about it. If you are the one being carried, thank them out loud and remember it. Your turn to give will come around.