The Friend Who Becomes Family
Cross-Generational Chemistry and Spiritual Friendship—with Sarah Orr | 🎙️ Episode 7
Sometimes the most important people in your life are the most unexpected.
You know the ones: you meet by chance, have a reason to connect, and one thing leads to another and you couldn’t imagine life without them.
That’s the friend Sarah has been for me.
We’ve been in each other’s lives for thirteen years. She was 23 when we met. I was almost 40. She worked at my daughter’s outdoor school, and from the first time I picked Emma up and felt the ease of her, I just knew. This girl is going to be in my life.
What I didn’t know was how true that would turn out to be, or how many layers it would have.
Teacher. Nanny. Creative collaborator. Co-traveler to California when Max was tiny. House sitter. The person who quietly watched me figure out how to mother, find my voice, build things and break things and build again.
And now, in a few months, someone I get the honor of watching step into motherhood herself.
Recording this conversation felt like exhaling. Sarah is one of those people who makes everything feel possible and none of it feel heavy. She’s the rays to my sunshine. The person I’ve always wanted more of around me.
But what surprised me, and I think will surprise you too, is how much I’d never actually asked her. What did it feel like on her side of all of it? Were there moments she wanted to pull back? Was I asking too much?
Her answers moved me. Because what felt vulnerable or big to me was never a burden for her. She just got me. And that, it turns out, is the whole thing.
There’s also a story in here that gives me chills still. Sarah found her late father’s painting at a thrift store — a bird on a cliff, in his hand — on the same day a healer had described that exact image appearing in her energy field. I gifted her that session and was on the other end of her voice notes as it unfolded. I remember feeling it with her in real time. It’s the kind of moment that reminds you why having a friend who holds space for your grief and your signs is one of the most sacred things there is.
We also talk about the Venn diagram of friendship that gets chunkier every year, what frozen pizza has to do with friendship resilience, pebbling as a love language, and what Sarah hopes her baby learns from watching her show up for her people.
Plus, pulling oracle cards (our favorite joint activity) and the spirituality of friendship: how sometimes you just feel intuitively what what your friend feels.
This episode is for anyone who has someone in their life who shouldn’t be their person on paper—and is anyway. For those who follow the chemistry in friendship, not the rules.
Have a listen 💛:
“I feel like I was in a really good mental space when I was young.
Go towards more of what feels good. And you guys just felt like really good people.”
Friendship as a Venn Diagram: Chunky in the Middle :
Sarah’s Friend Picks:
The Infinity Pillow — the circular travel pillow that fits the exact nook in your neck that regular pillows miss. Sarah sleeps with hers, travels with hers, and is already plotting to get me one. High recommendation from a woman who takes her sleep very seriously.
Coffee—yes, coffee. But specifically: bringing a friend a cup as a love language. Sarah spent years quietly slipping me a decaf when I said I didn’t need the caffeine but clearly needed the ritual. That’s friendship.
Join the campfire:
Is there someone in your life who shouldn’t be your person on paper—different age, different stage, different world—and yet they’re one of the most important relationships you have?
Tell us about them. Tag them. Let them know the Venn diagram is chunky.
And if this episode makes you want to reach out to someone you’ve been meaning to: please do it. Today, not tomorrow.
Leave a comment below, or come find us on Instagram @theyeahnoforsureshow.
Listen, Share, Connect:
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💌 Share with the friend who became family and tag us to win a handwritten note and a little something in the mail
*Sarah and I recorded this episode twice. The first attempt had audio issues we couldn’t save. She showed up for take two without a single complaint. Which is the most Sarah thing that could have happened — and tells you everything you need to know about her. She’s been there for so many figure it out moments in my life. She just stands witness and says: “I got you, girl.”