Speaking Volumes

The fun thing about blogging is I'm never quite certain what direction my writing is going to take. I had quite a different story in mind when I sat down at my computer today. Join me for this week's tale...

Thursday is Thanksgiving and that means it's time to print out my check list of food to buy and things not to forget for the big holiday meal. When computers and word processors first came on the scene I could easily see the advantage of creating a holiday dinner shopping list which I could revise as each occasion demanded. Hey, most of the time I end up buying and cooking the same foods, so why reinvent the wheel.

As I was checking off items on this year's list I started to reminisce back to the first Thanksgiving meals I had planned. I could picture myself as a young bride, hosting my mother-in-law for the first time. This conjured up all kinds of feelings and scenes. Better to go back a few years, so off I went even further back in time to remembrances of my mom in the kitchen on Thanksgiving morn, preparing much the same foods we still have today. In my minds eye I can still see my mom in her apron at the sink, peeling vegetables, potatoes, turnip, onions, etc, mixing flour and Crisco for pie crusts.

Stop! Her apron! My mom and my grandmother never cooked without wearing an apron. I even remember getting a few of my own as shower gifts. I think I have one lying around the house still. When did I stop wearing these? Aprons were once an integral part of preparing any meal. No self-respecting woman would probably be in the kitchen without one. I don't think my girls even know what aprons look like. Why would you wear one? Well, years ago, women wore pretty dresses, at least my mom did.On holidays, Sunday best clothing was at a premium and you sure didn't want to ruin your clothing with gravy stains or spattering grease. Aprons were worn to protect what was underneath. They were easy to sew and easy to clean. And besides, before the days of paper towels, they made a great place to wipe those messy hands.

A recent email reminded me of all the uses those pretty aprons had... 

They served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

They were wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the Chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy 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.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in 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 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 to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

If you look closely at thecollage accompanying this blog, you'll see my mom is wearing an apron each photo. With the hundreds of pictures I have of her,  I had quite a time finding a few where she is wearing the apron. That's cause as soon as the camera came out, the apron was whisked off. Who wants a picture of themself in an apron?

When you prepare your Thanksgiving meal this week, will you wear an apron? Perhaps I'll dig through my closet of memories and find one of my mom's to wear. 

As always, we try to bring our blogs full circle back to books so here's a suggeston befitting the theme:

My Apron: A Story from My Childhood ~ Eric Carle
a bit of a different use but an apron nonetheless