It was an ordinary day. Looking at a photograph from years ago that features a few women wearing aprons as they worked in the kitchen. One of them was my grandmother on my father's side. We all called her Nan-nan and it seems that when she was younger she always had an apron around her neck to protect herself from getting food and dirt on her pretty dress. My mom was much the same and seemed to always have an apron in place around her neck during holidays when the family gathered at my mom and dad's house for the holiday meal whether it be Christmas, Easter or Thanksgiving. So...as I type this story it doesn't seem unnatural that my wife has an apron draped around her neck to protect herself from the spaghetti sauce that always seems to get all over your clothing while preparing spaghetti for the family. A few years ago I published a story showing you a few of her aprons which she had made herself from fabric that she had chosen for herself. Since then our children have given her a few new ones to add to her collection of aprons. Now before I go on...do you know what an apron really is? If so, do your children know what an apron might be. Do they, or you, know what an apron might be used for around the house?
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| Someone's grandmother wearing her apron. |
I guess I should tell you that it is meant to keep your dress or skirt and blouse from getting dirty. But, that is only one reason to wear an apron. Other reasons would be: for carrying eggs to the kitchen from the chicken coop, to carry all sorts of vegetables to the kitchen from the garden, to bring in apples that had fallen from the tree in the back yard, to supply hiding places for shy children, to serve as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven, to clean dirty ears and dry children's tears, to carry the hulls of the peas to the trash can, to wipe a perspiring brow and to quickly dust furniture when company arrives unexpectedly. I can remember my mother baking pies and she used her apron to remove it from the hot oven and place it under the pie on the window sill in our kitchen. So, by now you can see how many germs that apron must hold by the time the meal has been made and everything has been cleaned up at the end of the meal. But you know...I doubt that anyone ever got sick from anything they came in contact with our mom's apron. Today my wife uses her apron to hold the hot cookie sheets while removing them from the oven with her great collection of cookies she makes for just about ever holiday and a few non-holidays. And, it seems whenever she has her apron on she finds some unusual reason for using it. Of course, that's why you wear an apron...to find someway you can use it. No sense washing a clean apron! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy
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