New places...new faces...

Well, I'm back in Des Moines for round 2 of my training.  I didn't have to leave the night before, thank goodness, so I only had 2 nights that I had to find things to do.  Last night I decided to FINALLY get my hair cut.  It's not always easy getting out to even get a simple hair cut when you're a single mom who works full time.  I feel guilty enough leaving my daughter to work 40 hours a week, let alone finding a sitter to watch her while I go do things for myself, so since I was in a big city with plenty of salons to choose from, I decided to get a hair cut and a few highlights. 

I ended up just going to the mall to one of the little walk-in salons.  It was a Tuesday at 4:30, so it was pretty quiet and nobody in the salon except the two stylists who were just chatting.  One of the gals asked what she could do for me and I just said I needed a trim and a few highlights.  She brought me back to her station, combed through my hair, and said..."wow, you have long hair."  I just laughed and said, "yea, I am a single mom and I work full time, so I don't find a lot of time to do things for myself."  I just told her I was in Des Moines for a training and decided to take advantage of some free time.  She said, "I'm a single mom, too, have been for 7 years".  At that point I kind of felt connected to her.  We went on to chat about the joys of having daughters and the sadness of failed relationships...it turned out we had a lot in common, and it was kind of refreshing to chat with someone who had a lot of the same joys and struggles as myself.

When we were all done, I went up to pay and she told me my total.  I took some cash out (including a decent sized tip), I said thank you, handed her the cash, said I didn't need any change, and walked out.  I hope she does something fun with her daughter or something for herself with the tip money.  As a single mom/parent, it's not always easy to find the time - or money - to do fun things for yourself, or with your children.  We sometimes get so caught up in being responsible for providing for our children that we forget to take time to actually spend with them or go do something for ourselves.

I enjoyed my visit with her, and I know I will probably never see her again, and that's ok.  I hope she took something away from our visit, too.  Sometimes it's not only the people who are in our lives every day that have an impact on us.  It can be anyone, anywhere, at any time. 

As for now, I am in my sweats with my T.V. on in my hotel room...



I have one more day of training left tomorrow, and then I get to go home to see my beautiful daughter.  :)