Grandma's Apron

While growing up as a child I lived next door to my grandmother, affectionately known as Mya, and I can remember her wearing an apron every day.

My grandfather, affectionately known as Pappu, came to the United States from Greece before my grandmother and while working full time he built a large 4 bedroom house for his bride. When he finished the house he arranged for her and their son to come "from the old country" to join him in living together in their new home. Together they had 5 more children - three girls and two boys who both unfortunately died shortly after birth. As their daughters grew to adulthood my grandfather built two more houses on each side of the main family home. Mya and Pappu shared the main house with their eldest daughter and her spouse who provided them with 7 grandchildren and then he built two more houses on each side of theirs for his two younger daughters and their spouses who each provided them with 2 more grandchildren totaling 11 grandchildren.

My recollections of Mya are of an older, tired woman always dressed in black (except for her white pantaloons) with her hair wrapped in a "kerchief" who was always cooking in the kitchen. She barely spoke English but we all managed to understand her. I can still see her hanging out the back door with her apron hanging from her neck and tied behind her back as she called any nearby grandchildren to gather around for a piece of hot cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven.

My mother told me stories of my grandmother washing her apron out by hand every evening before retiring for the day and hanging it near the stove that heated the kitchen to make sure it would be dry the next morning. The apron, my mother said, was a necessity in keeping Mya's everyday clothes clean as in those days it was much easier to wash a smaller piece of cotton material than to wash your day-time clothes. My mother always wears a smock-type apron with pockets mostly when she is cooking but has on occasion worn it out to the backyard using the pockets to carry little things such as tissues, dog biscuits, etc.

I'd like to share with you a memory of Grandma's Apron by an anonymous author that I really connected with:

Grandma's Apron

My Grandma's apron covered her front and back looping over her shoulders and tieing at her waist in the back.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few. It was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder 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 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.

This can be a good history lesson for those that have no idea how the apron played a part in our lives.

REMEMBER:

Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.
Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.
They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
I never caught anything from an apron…But Love. (Author Unknown)

I can picture my Mya using her apron in many of these same ways. She raised chickens, heated her kitchen stove with wood, had a large vegetable garden in her backyard along with fruit trees and was surrounded by many grandchildren.

MY FAVORITE APRON

I'm not in the habit of wearing an apron as often as I should, therefore, beginning today, I am going to make  a better effort to wear one each and every time I prepare a food item to eliminate getting grease stains and white powder residue (from flour) on my clothing. I may even wear one outside the kitchen as I also raise chickens, grow vegetables and fruit and heat with wood. I've just learned many new ways to use an apron but who knew you could use it for dusting?? In my case, I'm never too old to learn.

My most favorite apron, presented to me as a gift in 2001 from my now 11 year old grandson, is on display in my kitchen hanging from a magnet on the side of the refrigerator. Luv it!