Aprons
My eldest daughters and my sweet sister-in-law have been apron wearers for years, but I wasn’t convinced. Why bother, I wondered? Sure, if I was doing something really messy like canning I would slip one on, but otherwise they seemed like more bother than they were worth. This summer a strange thing happened -- I started putting on an apron at the beginning of the day and often kept it on until dinner time. The end of the summer was a blitz of cleaning and de-junking since those are tasks that (sadly) take a backseat during the school terms. I was surprised by not only the efficacy of aprons, but also in how the simple act of wearing this badge of housewifeliness made me feel mentally prepared to attack my homemaking duties.
I like big aprons, not the silly hostess variety women wore in the 50’s, at least in movies. A good apron needs to cover your top as well as your skirt, and ought to have utilitarian pockets. Apron pockets allow you to pick up misplaced items and tote them to the correct spot, carry cleaning supplies, pick some garden tomatoes and peppers, and bring back a few eggs from the barn.
Yesterday a dear friend called to ask me if I wore aprons. I was happy to tell her that, yes, though I am a rather recent convert, I do now wear aprons regularly. Today my friend, a retired missionary, gave me a couple of delightful aprons from Japan. One even has sleeves and looks like an artist’s smock! Most of the time when I slip on an apron it makes me think of my sister-in-law and pray for her in Africa, but now when I wear one of my new ones I know I will also remember my friend and lift her up in my prayers.
If you are not an apron wearer, give it a try. Find or sew a pretty one (large and with pockets!) Wear it when you are in the kitchen or cleaning. There are tons of instructions online. (I’m intrigued by this one for a jeans apron.) Maybe you, like I, will be surprised at how this simple piece of clothing can help you focus on serving your family joyfully as you go about your work of keeping home!
I like big aprons, not the silly hostess variety women wore in the 50’s, at least in movies. A good apron needs to cover your top as well as your skirt, and ought to have utilitarian pockets. Apron pockets allow you to pick up misplaced items and tote them to the correct spot, carry cleaning supplies, pick some garden tomatoes and peppers, and bring back a few eggs from the barn.
Yesterday a dear friend called to ask me if I wore aprons. I was happy to tell her that, yes, though I am a rather recent convert, I do now wear aprons regularly. Today my friend, a retired missionary, gave me a couple of delightful aprons from Japan. One even has sleeves and looks like an artist’s smock! Most of the time when I slip on an apron it makes me think of my sister-in-law and pray for her in Africa, but now when I wear one of my new ones I know I will also remember my friend and lift her up in my prayers.
If you are not an apron wearer, give it a try. Find or sew a pretty one (large and with pockets!) Wear it when you are in the kitchen or cleaning. There are tons of instructions online. (I’m intrigued by this one for a jeans apron.) Maybe you, like I, will be surprised at how this simple piece of clothing can help you focus on serving your family joyfully as you go about your work of keeping home!
Comments
Just wanted to let you know that I have given you a blog award. You can read more about it at this location:
http://randomthoughtsandotherfunthings.blogspot.com/2007/09/thanks-for-award.html
Blessings, Kim
p.s. thanks for being such a great example to so many of us!
Glad you got your tech problems solved before Aaron's classes tomorrow!
Thanks also for the nice words. Blogging is definitely taking a backseat these days in our house. Why blog when all my daughters are under my roof and get all my thoughts regularly as we cook and bike? (The other day Tim asked K and I what we talk about on our bike rides. Hah - just life, men and women, love and respect, submission, things like that.)