Is the universe trying to tell me something?

So, I’ve got a dating profile on one of those dating websites.
A week ago, I get a like from a gal. I’d seen her profile before but never really went past the front page. Ok, I take a look at her profile. What the heck? She has a PhD? NO WAY! The way she wrote her profile tells me her sense of humor pretty closely matches mine and that sexually, the odds are better than even that we’ll be a pretty good match there also.
Alrightalrightalright, send her a message, hi how are you blah blah blah, generic introduction.
She responds, not only that, she responds positively. HOLY COWBELLS, I’ve got a PhD who is interested in ME!
Ok, cool yer jets boy, talk with her a bit, see if this actually goes anywhere…

Cut to yesterday afternoon …

We agree to meet at a park that is across from the Library, and has the historical museum and art museum located at the front of it.

We take in the art museum, then the recently totally revamped history museum (wow! Really cool, interactive and with a light touch of immersive media for some of the displays). After the museums, we go for a walk(almost all of the main parks in Boise are along the river and connected by a walking/biking path on either side of the river, we call it the imaginative name of “The Greenbelt”) and end back at the original park on a bench between the bandshell and her car. We sit there for about an hour just talking, getting to know each other better until the rain clouds get to be too threatening. Thus ended our date.

So here I am, with a woman who is smart, educated, funny, physically attractive to me, we like the same sorts of activities, we are sexually compatible, it seems, haven’t actually tested that one yet, and we can sit and talk and all of the sudden four hours are gone. She has a frickin PhD in social work of some sort and is a licensed therapist with a (recently sold) private practice.

As she was giving me a ride across the park to my car, she tells me that in the interest of truth and honesty in advertising, she about some legal issues that are current and ongoing.

SIGH.

She gives me the basics, enough to look up the details.
Ok, I get her situation, and it is sadly, incredibly common, people do very stupid shit at some point in their lives at least once. I have greater understanding of why me etc. So I can understand and all that cuz damn but I really like her and want to date her.

But I can’t. Her issues will, without any doubt, negatively impact my circumstances with regard to custody of my son.

Damn it, it was right there close enough that I actually got to have a small taste of as close to perfection as I never really expected to ever find in my lifetime.

Thanks for letting me whine and weep y’all

I hear you. Since my wife died I’ve been trying okcupid. Over the past couple years I’ve dated a number of women. Some seemed reasonably compatible at first, but THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING. There was the one who was a perfect match for my musical tastes but was incompatible in almost every other way. There was the one who was compatible in most ways, but was adamant that if I didn’t want to spend 90% of my life traveling in foreign countries, we couldn’t be together. There was the one who seemed wonderful in almost every respect, but then IMMEDIATELY broke up with me when I just mentioned a particular sexual act I might like to try with her. There was the one with whom I had a just delightful first date, but then told me before our second date that she was days away from moving out of state. (WTF? Why did you start dating me then?) I’ve decided that the universe is trying to demonstrate to me that there’s no such thing as a woman I’m compatible with. I’ve pretty much given up on dating at this point.

I’m not following what legal issues she is dealing with that would negatively impact you regarding custody of your son (sorry if I’m being dense!). Can you provide some detail so we can either say (1) Yeah that sucks & you definitely can’t date her; or (2) Why are you letting her speeding ticket/shop lifting conviction/tax evasion/etc impact your dating life? Unless she’s a child molester, I’m not getting it.

What is going on? The rest of the story please.

It’s probably related to the fact that she “recently sold her practice”, and likely not voluntarily.

This is pretty close.
Yes child molesting was involved (not her, he’s already in prison for basically the rest of his life unless paroled) however her exhusband has brought charges and is after her license over the matter. Even though much of this is public record, I don’t really feel comfortable saying much more than that because it’s not my case. Besides I really just came here to whine a little

I hope you told her why you can’t date her. She sounds like she’d understand. You could be friends then maybe later…?

The Universe is a Bitch, and will always fuck you over to the best of it’s ability in any given situation.

At least that’s my experience.

Why can’t you date her?

Yeah, we had that talk…wasn’t easy for either of us. Sometimes doing whats best for myself is a difficult thing to do, specially when it involves somebody elses tears

My reading /WAG is that DorkVader is have custodial questions arising from his divorce.

Dating a woman who is being alleged to be negligent or worse with regards to the her ex’s abuse of her child could be used against DorkVader.

It shouldn’t, but the battles over custody of children can get really, really ugly and who knows what tactics DorkVader’s ex will take. Sounds like a case of being cautious.

That was just my interpretation.

I would date her. Nobody has to know you’re dating.