No, I’m not dead

So the posts have been a little light-on of late, and I can only apologise. It’s just that time of year, you know what I mean? One thing after another.

Anyway this is just a quick post to let you know I’m still alive and well, and to share some updates.

First of all, I’m due to appear on mainstream TV next week as well as online for a piece by the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) for their Australia Talks project.

Journalist Karen Tong got in touch with me after coming across my article in The Australian. As I understand it, she’s interviewing a couple of other women aside from me to discuss the phenomenon of single Christian women like myself who want to get married but are struggling to find husbands.

Karen was lovely and we got on very well, so I’m quite interested to read her piece and see the segment. Watching/hearing myself back is becoming gradually less painful, which I guess is a good thing. If I can get a copy or a link of the video, I’ll share it here as well.

Another one to watch out for is Natalie Barrett’s The Thirtyest Podcast, which I did a recording for earlier this week.

Talking to Natalie was thoroughly enjoyable, and I felt I articulated my point of view better than in any previous discussion or interview.

We discussed all things 30 and single, the experiences we’ve had in our parishes and communities and the way Christian women should approach the reluctant single life (hint: it’s about acceptance).

Our conversation won’t be coming out for a while – probably early next year, but I’ll keep everyone posted.

To close, I’ll share a short story of an encouraging experience I had last weekend.

I was at a function with a bunch of Catholics from interstate and a man approached me. I had already been introduced to him as “Anna Hitchings the journalist” (lol) but I wasn’t sure where he stood on what I wrote, so I was a little wary.

“I just wanted to say I really enjoyed your appearance on This Catholic Life,” he said – referring to the podcast episode I recorded some months ago.

Somewhat relieved, I thanked him, but he wasn’t finished.

He looked at me a bit sheepishly and said, “I might have been one of those guys who wrote some angry posts on Facebook about your article.”

“Oh,” was all I could say in reply, wondering where this was going.

“But after I listened to the podcast I understood much better where you were coming from, and it was really good.”

I was relieved (again) and grateful, but also intrigued. I thanked him and asked what it was that had changed his mind about me.

He thought for a few seconds and said “well, the fact that you didn’t write the headline, because the headline was what really upset me.”

I laughed and said, “yeah, people often don’t realise it but journalists almost never write their own headlines – it’s usually the editors who write them.”

For those who haven’t listened to this podcast episode, I mention that my original headline was something very lame like “The crisis facing women in the 21st century”.

This man also mentioned that hearing about why I wrote the article also changed his mind about me and what he thought I was saying. I didn’t delve into what his original impressions were, but thanked him once again.

I really appreciated this interaction, not just for the obvious reason of being understood, but because I was fully aware that he didn’t have to come up to me and say anything. I thought it was a ballsy and humble move and it really meant a lot.

Incidentally if you haven’t listened to the episode of This Catholic Life I encourage you to do so. It was an interesting conversation between 4 people with different experiences and perspectives on the Catholic dating scene (which presumably you’re interested in if you’re reading this blog).

That’s all from me for now, but I should have something more substantial up soon.

Peace out and God bless, friends.