There was a lot of traffic as I was driving up I-90/94 yesterday night. I was headed to my oldest cousin's wedding reception, and as I approached the diverging point, I glanced at the clock, which read 7:30. I looked over at the Irving Park exit and wondered whether I should swerve through three lanes and show up at BYG instead. The kids would be oblivious to what I'd done, except for the questions of why I was wearing a suit and tie. "You dressed up for the dating seminar!" they might say.

A few years ago, I was visiting a girl at her downtown apartment and we decided to go for a walk by the lakefront. It was a warm summer night with just enough of a breeze. And as we were strolling down by the water, fireworks began exploding at the pier behind us. It was certainly a moment.

Then my phone rang.

I don't do it often, but occasionally I ignore calls, especially if priorities demand it. If there ever was a time to ignore a call, this would have been it. But I looked at the screen and it told me who was calling and without any hesitation, I put my life on pause.

"Hey. Nothing much. You need a ride tomorrow? Sure, I'll be there around nine o'clock."

And so my actions defined my priorities.

Yesterday, I kept driving. I was late to the reception, but in time for the food, which means I was right on time. It was a cozy reception, mostly church members and family. My cousin is the oldest of my generation and she'd gone through many years of family gatherings, deflecting and absorbing questions and hopes of a marriage in the near future. It was good to see her happy, and the groom seemed an affable man.

Of course, now the oldest unmarried of the cousins is my sister, with me right behind. And I was cornered and somewhat assaulted by a matchmaker, who kept telling me things and grabbing my arm and seemed to have had a little too much sparkling wine. Even Joann, my younger cousin, offered to set me up with her friends. I said I'd keep it in mind.

While all this was going on, I received a picture message from all the way out in California. It was a praying mantis and said, "Look what I found!"

This time my life continued to play and all I could think was, I hope it's praying for me.