Holly’s onsite with a client today, so it’s just Anna + Hannah + Meredith on the mic, talking about something that quietly shapes your whole motherhood experience:
Friendship.
Not “how to make more mom friends.”
But how to know who’s safe… and how to be safe when someone hands you something tender.
Because motherhood has a way of turning friendship into both:
lifeline
and landmine
And a lot of us are carrying a low-grade question in the background of our lives:
Who can I really bring my real life to?
The word we’re side-eyeing: “loyalty”
We started with a spicy-ish take from Anna:
“Loyalty” feels like a weird expectation to place on friendship.
Not because commitment isn’t beautiful, but because friendship isn’t a contract.
When people say “I value loyalty,” sometimes what they mean is:
“I need you to prove you’re on my side.”
“I need you to show up the same way forever.”
“I need you to be available when I’m not.”
“Don’t change. Don’t drift. Don’t evolve.”
And motherhood will absolutely test that.
We talked about the difference between:
desire (“I miss you. I wish we had more time.”)
expectation (“If you cared, you would.”)
That line matters.
A safe friend doesn’t demand your nervous system
One of the most freeing ideas in the episode:
A safe friend understands that availability can’t be “drop everything, always.”
Instead of “prove you’re loyal,” a safe friendship sounds like:
“Do you have it to give right now?”
“Can I put something here?”
“Do you want validation or feedback?”
“No pressure to respond fast, I just needed to say it.”
That’s not distance. That’s respect.
The most practical tool we shared
Hannah brought in something we wish every adult friendship had language for:
Before someone shares something hard, ask:
What do you want right now?
Validation?
Support?
Feedback?
Suggestions?
A solution?
Just a place to vent?
Because a lot of friendship tension isn’t “bad friend energy.”
It’s misaligned expectations:
One person is venting.
The other is fixing.
Someone leaves feeling unseen.
Someone leaves feeling rejected.
This one question fixes so much.
How do you know someone is safe?
We didn’t give a cute listicle answer… because honestly, you learn over time.
But some clear “tells” came up:
Safe friends tend to:
treat other people’s stories with care (no “she wouldn’t mind me telling you…”)
disagree respectfully (no contempt, no reduction)
handle your hard moments without pearl-clutching
let you be human without making it about them
disappoint you sometimes… and let you disappoint them sometimes (without punishment)
Safety isn’t perfection.
Safety is trust + emotional maturity + respect.
Next week: money talk (anonymous + no questions off the table)
We have a finance guru joining us next week and no questions are off the table and everything stays anonymous.
Send anything you want us to ask to info@thereadynetwork.com and we’ll get answers on next week’s episode.
Question for you (comment and tell us)
When you think about a “safe friend,” what’s the #1 trait that makes you feel like you can exhale and be fully yourself?
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