GRANDMA'S APRON

My mother's aprons 

 

(I received the following from a friend,

 and so the author is unknown)

The History of Aprons

I don't think many kids today even know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she didn't have many and it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a pot holder for removing hot pans from the oven, shooed flies away from sleeping babies, and fanning it provided a bit of breeze on a hot summer day.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, runny noses, and on occasion even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fuzzy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids, and when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms or around the shoulders of the nearest child.

That big, old apron wiped many a perspiring brow bent over the hot wood stove, dried work worn hands and more than a few tears.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

Crumbs were dusted form the dining table onto that apron.

From the garden it carried all sorts of vegetables.

After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples, pears and nuts that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields for dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that

0ld - time apron'  that served so many purposes.

I certainly don't maximize the use of this apron,

 but I do wear it often as I enjoy cooking and baking.

I will admit that I  sometimes dry my hands on it,

  wipe flour and a few tears from my face,

 and have used it to carry vegetables from the garden.

Lemon-berry muffins on my mother's depression glass plate

Old fashioned 'Pepper-nut' cookies

Currant scones for breakfast

Nothing beats the aroma of freshly baked buns.

I think I will wear my apron with renewed gratitude

 that life has so many conveniences.

I'm glad I have memories of my grandma in her little country kitchen,

and I am sure her aprons were well used.