It was a Monday night.

Nick & I always do our grocery shopping together. Sometimes it's a chore, sometimes it's fun. I always sneak some dulce de leche ice cream or other non-Paleo treat into our cart, while he's usually picking out beets or grabbing another eggplant (I'll let you guess who's going to be the cool parent). This particular night at Trader Joe's, we were hungry and in a hurry to get the errand done and go home for dinner. It had been an exhausting day. You know the kind of day I'm talking about... emotions running high, tense words exchanged. Finding it hard to just live in the moment.

Our world has been such a roller coaster these past few years. An exciting move to Seattle in 2012 funneled into almost zero consistency with this city and its beautiful community as I hopped on the coattails of Nick's snowboarding career and proceeded to follow him all over the world, culminating in our elopement last May. After that, discovering who we are together. Who we are separately. Growing in our understanding of love, of God, of faith. So many stories tucked in those pages of memories, so many laughs, so many tears. We have held one another at weddings and at funerals, on top of mountains and in oceans. We have explored our love on the rooftops of Morocco, under the sparkles of Paris, and among Mayan temple ruins. As Nick likes to say, we have lived some life.

Truth be told, amongst the glamour and Instagram photos, most of the time life looks like grocery shopping at Trader Joe's on a Monday night.

If you've ever done your grocery shopping in the evening, this will be a familiar scene. It was more crowded than usual. Moms still in their yoga gear, pushing carts in a synchronized maze around the store. Everybody's in a hurry. Hands reaching for organic bananas and jars of garbanzo beans. More than once I bump into someone and am met with a scowl; the apologies issue swiftly from my lips — I'm used to my vision getting in the way while grocery shopping. The store is picked through; they're out of several things on my list. Nick & I split up to tag team the rest of our items. Let's get this over with as quickly as possible. My stomach is growling; I head for the sample station for the second time. Grab the pork tenderloin for tomorrow night's pulled pork sandwiches. Head for the produce aisle. I feel a strong arm swoop me. A familiar warm embrace. Before I can react or know what's happening, I am slow dancing with my husband in the middle of a crowded Trader Joe's on a hectic Monday night, groceries still in hand. He pulls me in close, ignores my feeble protests, and tells me everything is going to be okay. The other shoppers swerve out of our way; a small misstep in their dance. Nobody seems to notice us. They all have families and TV shows to get home to. My home is right here. For one perfect movie-worthy moment, we sway together. And I know deep in my heart, that no matter what high highs or low lows we will endure, no matter how many times we cry out to a loving and seemingly silent God, I will always have my best friend by my side.

And for that, I am endlessly grateful.

What we look like most of the time. Photos by our dear friend Rachel of heart, it races.