Since you’ve been reflecting on this in your draft and given your perspective as a Christian, a mom, and a student, "being a friend" usually boils down to a few core pillars. It’s less about how many followers you have (even with your impressive 289K!) and more about the quality of the connection.
Here is a breakdown of what it means to be a friend, grounded in both practical life and the KJV values you appreciate:
1. Consistency and Presence
In the KJV, Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." * The Reality: Being a friend means being the person who is there when things aren't "Instagram-perfect."
For you: It might mean a quick text to another mom while you're waiting for the school bus or checking in on someone even when your own schedule at PSU is packed.
2. Reciprocity (The Two-Way Street)
Friendship isn't a transaction, but it does require a balance of "giving" and "taking."
Listening: Truly hearing someone else’s struggles without immediately pivoting to your own.
Support: Being a cheerleader for their wins (like if a friend hit a sales goal or passed a hard class).
Reliability: Doing what you say you’re going to do. In a world of "flaky" plans, being the one who actually shows up is a rare gift.
3. Vulnerability and Trust
You can't really be a friend if you keep your "Ambassador II" armor on all the time.
Opening Up: It means sharing the "drafts" of your life—the parts that aren't edited yet.
Safe Harbor: Being a person who can hold a secret or a confession without judgment.
4. "Iron Sharpening Iron"
You might recognize Proverbs 27:17: "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."
Growth: A true friend makes you a better person. They encourage your goals (like your weight loss journey or your DMD degree) and gently nudge you when you're off track.
Honesty: Being able to say the hard things with kindness.
The "Season of Life" Challenge
Right now, you are a "Manager of People" (kids, husband, Poshmark customers). When you spend all day meeting everyone else's needs, it’s hard to switch gears into "Friend Mode," which requires equal energy, not authority energy.
Since you’re a writer, maybe we could look at that 2025 draft again? Sometimes seeing what you wrote back then can show you exactly what you feel is missing right now. Would you like to share a few lines from it?
That makes so much sense. It sounds like that 2025 draft was a moment of "checking in" with AI to see if what you were feeling was normal—and it definitely is.
When you look at your timeline, it’s easy to see where those "amigos" might have drifted. You graduated in 2007, got married in 2009, and by 2011, you transitioned from working public jobs (gas station, grocery store, pizza shop) to being a homemaker.
The "Amigo" Shift usually happens for three reasons:
1. The Loss of "Shared Dirt"
When you worked at the pizza shop or the grocery store, you had "forced" friendships. you were in the trenches together. When you moved to being a homemaker and an online student at PSU, those "accidental" daily interactions disappeared. You became the CEO of your home, which is a bit of a lonely "corner office."
2. The Parenting Divide
You have a 14-year-old, a 9-year-old, and a 7-year-old. Friendship in your 30s often becomes "activity-based." You aren't hanging out because you both like the same music; you're hanging out because your kids are on the same bus or in the same class at Harvest Baptist. If you don't "click" with the other parents, it can feel like you're surrounded by people but still alone.
3. The Digital Transition
With 289K followers on Poshmark, you have a massive audience, but an audience isn't a circle of friends. It’s easy to spend all our "social energy" responding to customers or followers, leaving our "personal battery" at 0% when it comes to actually calling a friend to vent about life.
A Little Wit for the Road
In the KJV, Proverbs 18:24 says a friend sticketh closer than a brother. But in 2026, sometimes it feels like a "friend" is just someone who likes your post but doesn't know you're struggling with pre-diabetes or trying to hit your 5,000 steps.
If you were to rewrite that 2025 draft today, what’s the one thing you’d say you miss most about having those "amigos"? (The inside jokes? Having someone to grab a coffee with in Leechburg? Just having someone who knew you before you were "Mom"?)
Fun times.
That is the most honest answer there is. "The fun times" sounds simple, but when you're 37, a DMD student, and managing a household of five, "fun" usually has to be scheduled three weeks in advance and cleared with the school bus calendar!
When you’re a Poshmark Ambassador and a mom, most of your "interactions" are functional:
Poshmark: Providing customer service and shipping in one day.
School: Making sure Seth, Evan, and Ava are on the bus.
Health: Staying disciplined with intermittent fasting and your walking pad.
The "amigo" fun you probably miss is that unstructured, zero-responsibility hanging out. It’s the kind of fun where you aren't "the mom," "the student," or "the seller"—you’re just Lauralee.
Why "The Fun Times" Feel Different Now:
The Pizza Shop Days: Back before 2011, "fun" was just what happened during a shift or right after. It was easy.
The 2026 Reality: Now, "fun" usually feels like another item on the to-do list. If it’s not productive, it feels like you're falling behind on a PSU project or a Poshmark listing.
A Small Challenge (from a KJV-loving Peer):
In Ecclesiastes 3:4, it says there is "A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." If your 2025 draft was about missing those "amigos," maybe your 2026 goal could be finding one "unproductive" fun thing to do this week that has nothing to do with being a student or a business owner.
Since you're in Leechburg, is there a local spot where you used to have those "fun times," or has the town changed as much as your schedule has?
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