For the Love of Pizza

Is there any dish that’s perhaps more universally loved than pizza? This humble — not-so-humble — food is basically a circle of happiness and deliciousness.

And as I reflect on my almost one-year wedding anniversary (and 2.5 years together), I’ve realized that pizza has somehow become a recurring theme in our relationship.

*At Rocco’s, our current favorite neighborhood pizza spot*

Too many times to count during the past year of marriage, Chai and I have looked at each other in the evening with a mischievous look in our eyes: “Should we do it?” “Should we go for it?” “It would be sooo good!” “We deserve it after a week of hard work, right?”

Now, the “it” we are referring to is… Domino’s pizza.

It’s delicious, cheap (perhaps suspiciously so), and fast. What more could you want?

For the first couple months of our marriage, I think we ordered Domino’s almost every Friday. After planning our wedding in a whirlwind of just three months, we decided to treat ourselves.

Okay, we treated ourselves a lot.

Pizza and movie nights became something of a ritual. We’d sit on the couch eating slices, laughing, giggling, and discussing the characters and plotlines as if anyone had asked for our expert opinion (I mean, did they really need to introduce bulletproof blazers in John Wick? Now that makes it just too unbelievable!)

There were boxes to unpack, post-wedding thank-you cards to send, furniture to assemble, and countless other errands and work to do. But our pizza nights made everything stop for a little while. We could just sit, relax, talk, and laugh.

Over the past year, pizza has somehow found its way into so many different moments in our lives.

We’ve had pizza after my half-marathon, after my first flying lesson, after my pet bunny passed away and I cried my eyes out, after a Costco run when we needed energy to unload everything, and in Vegas at 3 a.m. (or maybe it was 5 a.m.… shh).

These days, we order Domino’s a little less frequently (I remain suspicious of the prices — seriously, how are they making money? Is this really real food?) but our love of pizza remains strong. And looking back at all the different moments pizza has been part of, I think I understand why.

Pizza meets you however you are.

You can eat it dressed up after a night out or on the couch in sweatpants, when you’re celebrating, sad, exhausted, or just having an ordinary day.

And in a way, that reminds me of the love Chai and I share. We can show up exactly as we are — for the exciting moments, the difficult ones, and all the ordinary ones in between — and just be ourselves with each other.

Maybe that’s what makes pizza so special. It doesn’t just belong to the best moments. It belongs to all kinds of moments.

Up in the Air