Ode to An Apron

Aprons from Colorado Homes Magazine Online

GRANDMA'S APRON

The principle use of Grandma's apron
was to protect the dress underneath,
but along with that, it served as a holder
for removing hot pans from the oven;
it was 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 old 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, it 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 on the porch and 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 anyone invents something
that will replace that old-time apron
that served so many purposes.

~ Author Unknown ~
[but based upon the original poem by Tina Trivett]
APRONS by Carol Paulsen