While it might be strange to have a favorite punctuation mark, mine are the parentheses. I have often been accused of overusing parentheses, but what can I say? They allow for easy clarification while maintaining a hierarchy of importance. You can even put parentheses in parentheses in case you need to clarify your clarification. They describe and define the main point, even if they are not the point, themselves. They accentuate the text like the dry rub on a steak or the ribbon on a gift.
Parenthetical phrases are kind of like the written version of saying something under your breath. They are the subtle jabs, mumbled remarks, and hasty clarifications of the written word. They are those things that I said in math class that the teacher (who could hear conversations in the next time-zone) always picked up on:
“Did you have something to share, Trent?”
“Nothing, meine kommandant.” My math teacher was the kind of person that you naturally addressed in German. It just felt more appropriate somehow.
Anyway, I love parentheses, I use them all the time, and I have gotten in trouble far too often for using their verbal equivalent. So that is one of the reasons for the title. It gives me freedom to use parentheses without having to explain myself.
But there is another reason. We often don’t have time specifically dedicated to humor, our approach to life, our personal philosophies, our opinions, or even our faith. These things often happen along the way. They take shape in the backs of our brains while we are doing other things. They get shoved in between classes, jobs, meetings, sports events, cooking, cleaning, shopping, or paying bills like the last piece of luggage being shoved into the trunk of the family car. I’m not saying this is ok; in fact, I’m saying maybe we need to step back and make some dedicated time for such matters. But I think that some of our most important thoughts happen when we are not trying to make them happen. They ambush us in the shower or surprise us when we are trying to fall asleep. In short, much of what makes us, well, us takes place in the parenthetical phrases of our lives.
So this blog is about some of the things that I think about when my mind wanders. Family, cars, nerd culture, coffee shops, holidays, everyday life, and even faith are all open for comment as I try to put into words the mental impressions that often get shoved to the back of our brains. A lot of these posts will be designed to be funny. Some will not. And some will be somewhere in between. Several will be inspired by my Christian faith which I hope permeates even those essays that do not directly address spiritual matters. If you don’t think these essays and one-liners are funny, helpful, or in any way worthwhile, then I won’t twist your arm to read them. For those of you who do (Mom), I hope I can enrich your life with a laugh every now and then and maybe a new way of thinking or talking about something. Whatever the case, respect the parentheses. They may not be the point, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t important.
A few notes about myself: I’m a Christian, husband, father, nerd, and government attorney (don’t worry: I don’t anticipate writing much about that last one) living in Texas. My content, while often based on real events, will often be edited. In other words, this blog may contain fictionalized events, half-truths, and exaggerations. Like, a billion exaggerations.
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Email: theparentheticallife@gmail.com
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(the parenthetical life) 