Hi friends,

I’ve been a bit busy lately and have neglected the Verbs a bit. Sorry about that!

I have some news – really very good news…. I found a job!

Those who have been reading for a while will know that I’ve been looking for work for a long time…. and I’m pleased to report that after slogging away at applications for months and months, getting my hopes up, having them dashed, being rejected repeatedly, feeling defeated, brushing myself off and getting so, so close… one of those rejections turned into a second chance, another interview and a trial that’s turned into a part time job.

I won’t give you all the details, I’m not sure how much work/blog crossover I’m comfortable with, but I’m working Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday every week, doing admin tasks and a little blogging and social media strategising for a small, family run business, and I’m really enjoying myself. I’m working with a nice group of ladies, the parking is free and the coffee is good.

Huzzah! There’s money in my bank account again, money that I earned. That feels so good.

I want to say a sincere, heartfelt thank you to everyone who has cheered me on, sent me cards and messages, offered words of encouragement, sent supermarket vouchers, arrived on my doorstep with bags of groceries, left me fresh eggs, handed me cash, cooked for me, invited me out, sent their best juju over Instagram or Facebook, asked me how I’m going… it has meant SO MUCH to not be trudging through this season alone. It has been the difference between despair and hope.

Who knows if this part-time gig will last, for now I’m thinking of it as a ‘summer job’ and working on paying back some debts quickly.

I’ve slipped easily back into the routine of setting the alarm, getting through the traffic and on Thursday when I was home, it felt strange. Strange to be home on a weekday! That felt good.

So, that’s a biggie isn’t it? Employment, something to do, it’s so important isn’t it. Phew. Yay. Grateful.

I’ve been reading a lot of blogs too, especially the words of my friend Eden. I’ve only met her once IRL, at ProBlogger, but I reckon it’s okay to say we are friends. Not besties, that’s cray-cray talk, but in meeting her, in looking into her face and having her look into mine, and talking about real things straight off the bat, I felt a genuine connection.

The month of October was the first anniversary of her beautiful brother Cam’s suicide, and if you’re connected to the internet circles I am, you may know about #fucktober, where people were invited to send Eden some love – a card, a word of kindness, a little something to say, yes FUCK you October, we are here with you Eden. Big shout out to Beth from BabyMac for organising all the love. On ya Beth!

It’s been beautiful to see Eden absolutely overwhelmed with love and kindness, and CAKE. People are so good aren’t they? I don’t buy this idea that the world is all shitty and dark, of course I know that awful things happen, but really people are still inclined to be good and kind and willing to reach out to others. Don’t you think? (And yes, I know Eden isn’t the only one going through shit times, but I also think it’s okay for this post, on my blog, to just be about her, alright?)

Eden decided she wanted to do something really out of the box to try and raise a little awareness about suicide, which is still a topic that’s shooshed and hushed and hidden. It needs to be talked about, to be acknowledged and we need to try and help each other when we feel the black dog breathing on our necks. Grief is a monster, a hurricane, a vortex, and when you lose someone to suicide…. well, I can’t speak to that personally, but I do believe we need to try, try, try to understand grief better. Stop with the old ideas of grief being linear, then done, the time heals all wounds stuff, the god needed another angel stuff, all the words we say instead of saying the person’s name, saying I don’t know what to say, wrapping our arms around those who grieve, and try a little doing too, doing is good. Write a card, send a cake, lip-synch a ridiculous song and post it online.

Here’s the blog post Eden wrote about her fab idea to do a lip-synching competition. It’s been awesome to watch people’s videos. So funny, so moving, so beautiful. If you don’t watch any others, watch Eden’s clip. It is so powerful, so crushing, so true, so beautiful.

I thought and thought about what kind of song to do. In the end I went with something I love, something lighthearted and upbeat. And here it is Love Is A Contact Sport by Whitney Houston. Enjoy! I had so much fun just being a fool in front of my iPad! It’s so freeing to be silly.

If you search the #edenland tag on YouTube you can watch other people’s videos, there are some beauties!

So, they are the things that have been keeping me busy, a new job, a new routine, being silly on the internet… in fact, I was feeling so silly that I posted a clip of myself singing the theme to The Love Boat on my blog’s Facebook page yesterday. I posted it to cheer Eden up, and it seems that other people have enjoyed it too. Pop over to the I Give You The Verbs Facebook page (you can use the social media icon up there on the right) and check it out if you want a giggle.

So that’s what is new with me.

What’s your news?

What’s the hap where you are? Sung anything silly lately?

Annette x