Parenthetical Excitement!

I watched some of Ellen DeGeneres' old stand-up comedy tonight instead of watching the first half of the Auburn game. Don't judge me (or do, it's ok). One of her jokes was about how we have been trained by society to think that we all have some sort of disorder like ADD when we are, in her opinion, really just too lazy to pay attention (I would tell you the exact joke, but to be honest I wasn't paying much attention). She said that people are always trying to convince us that something is wrong with us. "Are you tired? Do you feel depressed? Are you stressed?"  Her answer? Of course! I'm alive, aren't I? 

I thought about writing a post dissecting that joke to find some deeper meaning about life in general. Something like "should life really make us feel tired, depressed and stressed?" Probably with some sweet Jesus-action thrown in. But then I decided that I didn't want to write that post. I'm too tired, depressed and stressed. My brain is too busy thinking about the (very rewarding) work I have to do tomorrow at church, the (really fun) road trip I'm taking tomorrow night through Tuesday, and the (totally amazing) Chrysalis weekend I'm working next week. I have to remind myself to stick those parentheses into that sentence, otherwise my thoughts will turn into ohmygoshihaven'tmadesignsforthebulletinboardsorcopiesforkids'churchordonelaundryforthetripormadeagapeorgottenallthelettersinortakenabreathinlikethirtyseconds!!!!!!

What would happen if I didn't insert those bold parentheses? Those reminders are all that stands between me and the loony bin. If I forget to notice the good things in life, everything will just run together like my mascara did this afternoon at Chrysalis commissioning (the smell of a perfectly mixed anointing oil on my forehead always gets to me)! So I have to remember to stop and smell the roses, or, during this time of year, stop and smell the leaves dying. Gosh, that sounds morbid.