An Alphabet of Gratitude - 'a'

I've been mulling over this post in my head for the better part of a month. How to lay out my Alphabet of Gratitude, what to say and how to say it. Faced with a number of choices, I did my usual trick of ignoring it all and deciding not to do anything at all. For example, right now, I should be working on my Year Overviews, but I am obviously... not.

Anyhow, I was trying to decide what should be the proper platform for my musings on gratitude. Should it be alphabetical? Should each letter be a post? Will I have enough to say for each post? What will I be thankful for when I get to 'x'? (I've got something in mind, don't worry.)

I haven't got the answers to most of those questions, but as Faiza pointed out to me when I was home, everything doesn't always need an answer or a solution. I'm slowly learning that it's okay not to have an answer and sometimes, it can be kind of fun not to know.

So what spurred me into action? Tyra's 2009 Valentine's Day show (the season is a bit behind in New Zealand.) She was playing matchmaker and all the men were wearing t-shirts that said "Take me I'm your's."

So my Alphabet of Gratitude begins today with the humble letter 'a.' An indefinite article on its own, but it is also the first letter of one of my favourite things - the apostrophe. Today (and every single day), I am thankful for the apostrophe.

My head actually spins when I think of how much I have to say about the apostrophe. What makes me feel marginally better, is that I'm not alone. Once you come out of the I-love-to-use-apostrophes-correctly closet, a lot of other people come out of the woodwork. Other people actually feel as strongly about this as I do. It's reassuring and I feel a certain kinship with them. There is actually an Apostrophe Protection Society (which makes my heart smile) and I am also a fan of Apostrophe Abuse - they have a list of links along the side, which simply proves that I am not alone.

Phill indulges my obsession and bought me the best Chistmas present ever - an illustrated copy of the book, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. This book is filled with wonderful and funny gems about punctuation, such as "Why did the Apostrophe Protection Society not have a militant wing? Where do you get balaclavas?" The woman is brilliant. Her children's book, The Girl's Like Spaghetti is pure genius.

I'm not sure that everyone understands how passionate I am about the apostrophe. They know, but they don't seem to understand why it is so important to me. I'm not sure I can explain it myself, but I do know that it makes me smile when people properly punctuate a plural possessive... and that, I am grateful for.