Big Dog

I met Big Dog online after dating for 2 years.  Previous to meeting him, I seemed to specialize in meeting "assholes and cheaters".  It was becoming a catch phrase for me.  "Assholes and Cheaters".
Here was a typical Sunday morning conversation with one of my girlfriends:
"So you went out with (insert any name here) last night?  How did it go?"
"He's an asshole."
"Really?  He looked so good in his profile.  I'm surprised."
"I'm not.  They are all assholes or cheaters."
"You are getting cynical."
"Not cynical. Experienced.  I think I have now dated every so-called eligible man in a 30 mile radius.  If he isn't a pompous, immature prick then it usually means that he is out cheating on his wife."
"Sam, you will meet someone.  When you least expect it, he will enter your life".
(groan from me)
"Nope.  I'm done.  I'm not dating anymore.  I just can't do it.  I would rather be alone and pay for my own meals on Saturday nights then put up with this crap any more."

Sound familiar?  This exact conversation probably repeats itself every Sunday morning millions of times with millions of good friends bemoaning the state of things.
As a newly divorced woman with two kids, I wasn't out there looking for a hook-up.  Certainly not.  I was looking for someone to restore my faith in monogamy.  I needed someone who would tell me that it was going to be ok.
Not finding anyone, I did the next best thing.  I found myself.  Good thing too because I was completely lost for most of a decade. (more on that later)

So, true to the saying "you find what you are looking for when you stop looking for it", I found Big Dog.

Here's how it went.
I was taking my profile down from the personals site but decided to do one last search.  I entered my favorite sport in the search box and expanded the search radius to 100 miles. Clicking through the pictures (no one reads the profiles), one image caught my eye.  The picture showed a normal guy in a suit standing front and center where my favorite team plays. That was weird.  What was this guy doing?  How did he have access to that spot?  I clicked on his profile.

It was written just for me.  He was looking for me.  His description of himself and dreams for the future were compelling.  I "winked" at him.
A few hours later I got an email from him.  He was funny and smart and interested in me.
I paid my $20 for another month's subscription to the online service and emailed him back.
And the rest is history.....

Big Dog is a professional sports writer for a large newspaper chain.  He also happens to cover my favorite team on a full-time basis.  He realized quickly that this was a good feature in my eyes and certainly played that card often in the early days (but continues to play it now too).

Big Dog is very good at what he does. He is smart, opinionated, charismatic and a master strategist.  Obviously he is everything that my ex-husband wasn't.  Big Dog loves what he calls "social experiments".
I say this often, I don't ever want to be on his bad side.

Big Dog loves me though. He accepts me for exactly who I am while simultaneously supporting me to be the best person I can.  I am stronger because of him. I am more confident.  I am more realistic.  I am hopeful.