Day 7: Chicago, IL

Image of the day: My friend Jeff trying to orchestrate a 1930's style sing-along at Jon and Amy's house. The only problem was, none of us plays the piano very well.

Trip meter at start of day: 1,006.0 mi
Gas: None bought today

As my cousin drove down Lake Shore Drive near Buckingham Fountain, I began singing the theme song to Married with Children:

Love and marriage, love and marriage,
Fit together like a horse and carriage.
This, I tell you, brother:
You can't have one without the other.

I'm 24, and sometime last year, the rush of engagements and marriages began among my friends. Tonight, my sister and I met up with two friends of hers, Jon and Amy, who had just gone on a vacation to France and gotten engaged after over three years of dating. Last night, I was invited by my friend Nirali to go to dinner with a group to celebrate another friend of hers getting engaged. I had to decline the invitation, and later that night a college friend of mine told me that the had just popped the question to his girlfriend.

Engagements are everywhere, and marriages can come out of nowhere. Several times in the past two months, I've checked an old acquaintance's Facebook profile to find out that he had just gotten married. I meet strangers my age who are already married. I see people my age pushing strollers. When my college roommate got married right after graduation, it was easy to dismiss him as a statistical outlier. Now, engagements and marriages are becoming the norm.

It's frightening to think of someone my age already having kids, and it boggles my mind that as I take this schedule-less road trip, the essence of not planning in advance, others are already choosing wedding cakes for next October.

I recently heard the rule that an engagement ring should cost as much as two months of the man's salary. With that in mind, maybe I should find a girl on this road trip and propose to her; I'm unemployed, so even if the girl weren't perfect, at least the ring would be cheap.