Delightful Ice Cream

COVID-19, thank you.

Because of you, I ended up spending more time with the man who would become my husband.

And one of the places we enjoyed spending time together in our pre-dating days during the first summer of COVID was a fabulous little store in Austin, Texas, called D'Lites.

D'Lites has THE most incredible low-carb ice cream in the world. It doesn't even taste like a healthier version of ice cream. There are multiple flavors, and the texture is this joyous soft-serve that makes your mouth happy.

I still remember the Andee's Mint flavor of D'Lites ice cream. That was our favorite. Mmmm.

I was living with my grandparents in 2020. I didn't want to give them the virus if I caught it, and my Friday nights were mainly spent at my brother and sister-in-law's home nearby. This was a nice getaway and gave me a place to go hang out. My now-husband, who was good friends with my brother and his wife before I was, also spent his Friday nights at their house.

Our Wednesday night services where we went to church were temporarily on hold due to COVID, so I was going to worship where my now-husband worshiped, which was still having Wednesday night services. It became a tradition to go get ice cream from D'Lites after worship before it closed, the four of us (or me, my now-husband, and my sister-in-law if my brother's work kept him that night).

I still remember standing outside the store before leaving for the night, our small group chatting post-ice cream in the dark evening air. I remember another night when my now-husband and I stayed talking after eating delightful ice cream after my brother and his wife had already left, and it was just the two of us talking in the parking lot. I didn't know at the time that we would get married the following Fall.

D'Lites ice cream was not just a delicious repast for my husband and I. We started a friendly little battle where we both tried to buy the other's ice cream, and whoever got their card successfully in the hand of the cashier was the winner. It was awesome to see the reaction of my now-husband when I paid for my ice cream ahead of him in line. Another time I drove all the way to D'Lites just to get him ice cream, probably as some kind of retaliation.

And this was all before we were "officially" dating. Really, the way we were hanging out, we were basically dating before we were "actually" dating!

D'Lites played its role in the story of me and my husband. We loved the ice cream, we loved the fellowship, and our friendship over that year and summer blossomed more than it ever had. If not for COVID, we might not have spent as much time together as we did, and the amazing ice cream from D'Lites added its own special flavor to our budding relationship.

Death by Chocolate. Extreme Chocolate. Andee's Mint. Just some of the ice creams of D'Lites. Who wouldn't enjoy delicious chilly treats with an awesome friend who, in the end, becomes the most special person in their life?

So thank you, COVID, for driving me in the direction of my new best friend who I married the following year. Thank you for pointing me in the direction of the incredible ice cream from D'Lites that the man who became my husband and I could enjoy together.

It was the summer of D'Lites. And the following summer was the summer of Engagement!

To quote my husband, "Even in the midst of a world-wide pandemic, good things can happen."