Fixing Each Other’s Crowns
A Tribute to Friendship, Growth, and Grace
This is my page, so let me shamelessly promote my friend’s business: TiffyKakes — creative genius, confectionary artist, and one of the fiercest women I’ve ever had the honor of doing life with.
But business accolades aside, let me tell you about my friend Tiffany — a woman who continues to inspire me more with each passing year.
We met through our significant others shortly after both relocating to Alabama — me from Baltimore, her from Houston. We were both tall Texas girls, but that’s where the similarities seemed to end... at least at first glance.
Our first meeting was at a flea market (which, to this day, she had no business being at — she was a vision of elegance while I was chasing a toddler in a hoodie, covered in queso). I never imagined we’d become the kind of friends that hold each other’s legs in delivery rooms — but here we are, years and two god-babies later, woven into each other’s stories forever.
When she became devastatingly ill with lupus a little over a year after giving birth, I watched her strength take on a new shape. Tiffany has never been one to sit still, but lupus forced her to reshape her life. From that pain, TiffyKakes was born — a business that gave her creative outlet, freedom, and fire, even on days when it hurt to move. She says I planted the seed. Maybe I did. But she built the garden.
Since I first wrote this post years ago, so much has changed — for both of us. I've now come to accept my own diagnosis with fibromyalgia, and it’s been a journey filled with pain, clarity, surrender, and healing. Our stories, though different, mirror each other in the ways we’ve had to rebuild.
Even more beautifully — both of our children are now starting their own businesses. Watching her daughter grow into a mini powerhouse is just chef's kiss. Seeing her lead by example and continue to thrive, not just survive, is awe-inspiring.
And the best update of all? After years of unrelenting pain, Tiffany is finally in remission.
She still doesn’t always see what we all do — the powerhouse of a woman, mother, creator, and friend she is. But if she forgets, I’ll be here to fix her crown. Because she’s done the same for me — time and time again.
On Friendship and Finding Your People
As we get older, making genuine friends becomes harder. We move, we raise families, we work nonstop, we heal, we hide. Life makes us cautious, tired, guarded. And sometimes, we feel too broken or too busy to connect.
When I moved to Alabama, I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t have a village here, or any clue how to build one. But then, two things happened that changed that: I found a community of bold, vibrant women in Mobile’s Divas, and I strapped on skates with the Mobile Derby Darlings.
Let me tell you, nothing builds fast trust like bruises and laps and laughter shared with women who refuse to let you fall alone — on or off the track.
Those early friendships, like the one I have with Tiffany, were lifelines. They reminded me that connection is worth the effort — that there are women out there who will clap for you when you win and hold you when you don't. That it's never too late to find your people.
If I had let insecurities or snap judgments define our first meeting, I would’ve missed out on one of the most important friendships in my life. Tiffany is not only a role model to my kids and an anchor in my chaos, but she’s also proof of what happens when women support each other instead of compete.
So, to all of you reading this:
May you have friends who see your crown even when it slips.
May you be the kind of person who reminds others of their light.
And may you never underestimate the power of building life with women who lift as they climb.
And to the true friends I’ve found along the way—the incredible women who’ve become more like family—thank you. Life is richer, softer, and more meaningful with you in it. Your presence has been one of my greatest blessings.
Love you always, Queens,
Lauren
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