Mother's Aprons

I remember so well the calico aprons that my Mother wore. She made them from feed sacks that Father needed no more. She wore them mainly to keep her pretty dresses pristine, But she found so many other uses for them in her daily routine. She used them to gather eggs from the henhouse nests, And to shoo from her garden, crows and other such pests. Toted in an apron were apples plucked fresh from the trees. They were used for collecting pods after shelling peas. Flowers from her garden filled the apron for pretty bouquets. It held clothes pins to hang clothes for drying on laundry days. Aprons were used as a receptacle when snapping green beans, And to gather a batch of lettuce for a salad of tasty greens. Many times her apron wiped tears from a little boy's eyes, And wiped her furrowed brow when baking cakes and pies. They were dandy for last-minute dusting before company arrived. Without her apron, I don't know how Mom would've survived! It seems that ladies no longer need an apron to wear themselves, Since food can be readily snatched from nearby grocery shelves. An apron is seldom worn by domestic engineers nowadays, Since tossing supper in a microwave to heat is now the craze! Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired (© All Rights Reserved)