It’s not that I lie and say that I’m married, but the ring creates the assumption that I am, and I’ve found, for surface-level business conversation, it’s easier that way. I don’t wonder whether my prospective customer thinks I have left my kid at home with an incompetent babysitter while I flit around the Pacific Coast in pinstripes. I don’t analyze whether he thinks I will be too busy juggling solo to adequately handle his account. If our business relationship deepens to camaraderie, he may learn I’m a single mom and that’s OK. Some single moms just like decorative rings. On their wedding fingers. Right?
I realize this is a bit of a crutch for me, and time and distance will give me confidence to place the ring back in its rightful home in my disgruntled jewelry box. But for now, it also comes in pretty handy for those plane rides home, when I’m looking to avoid conversation with my single, eager seatmate, and close my eyes and dream about going home to hug my son.
