Apron-ness

As we've prepared to leave our home and pack our belongings to Africa I've come to reflect on the things I have in plural; in other words, what to I buy LOTS of and why? It has been good therapy to see that I, one who has never determined to collect anything, have several collections of many things; and I'm coming to terms with that truth and am in fact embracing it. As I thought on these realities I tried to come up with something small i could leave with friends here in Holladay as a reminder of my love for them and for the many ways they've touched my life. I came up with the gift of an Apron. As i sat at the computer to write some explanation as to why an apron, these are the words that flowed from my brain. I thought I'd share them with you now.

Ever so practical, aprons are so often considered an outdated piece of nostalgia. Used by our grandmothers, they are a perception of the traditions of the past, when moms baked bread and served lunch to their neighbors in heels and pearls. Today we are too busy and too realistic for aprons. With so many places to go and so many people to care for, who has time for those things which aprons are used for anyway?

But therein lies the rub, for me. We do more now as women and mothers than our grandmothers ever did. Difference is, we have to do in less time and with more perfect execution. So, aprons for me have become a badge of honor; a “this is what I do and I’m o.k. with that” kind of badge. The practicality of staying clean while doing messy things with little messy people has been a saving grace when flying out the door to meet with someone who is not in the mode of apron-ness, and who could not be fully attentive while viewing the sticky fingerprints around the thigh of my skirt, or while seeing grape jelly stains on the belly of my blouse. Aprons are a signature of mine, something people know me for, and that, to me, is a good thing.

So, As I leave those I love and care for and admire, those I see who are “in the trenches” of apron-ness with me, I leave you with this, an apron. Please wear it in remembrance of me, the girl who didn’t mind aprons. And when it saves you from a stain or a spill, offer a little smile up to the heavens and think of Katie Graham and know she loves you dearly for being a friend to her, a sister and a fellow apron wearer

All My Love in spills and fingerprints,

Katie

I hope I will ever be good with my role as one who wears an apron. Though they cannot save me from everything messy in my life, they sure have come in handy.