...which, incidentally, also sells ice cream. Grabbing an ice cream was the intended purpose of our first date, which we arranged on a dating app. It would be Julia’s first attempt at an app-based first date, and she was appreciative of the fact that Carson inadvertently picked a location across the street from the Middlesboro Police and Firefighting headquarters. This did not occur to Carson prior to the date…he just likes Blue Bell Ice Cream. We bonded over shared frustrations that teachers face on a daily basis (and that week had been a doozy, believe me), so much so that the date was extended to walking over to the nearest watering hole. We left one another that night after exchanging some of our most cherished beverage: herbal tea. The kettle has been on a rolling boil in our house ever since, with many a cup enjoyed over repeated viewings of the Dune movies, to-go cups on walks with Rollie, or just sitting out on the porch looking out at the Cumberland Mountains.