Apron Strings Attached

I was planning to write about aprons that men wear. Manly men.

I even wear an apron when I am sewing. Manly sewing.

And then I thought about who wears aprons and I thought about my mom and my grandmother. So much for my treatise on the manly apron.

I have pictures of my grandmother from the 1920’s and 30’s, and beyond, in a dress. In fact she was from the generation of women who wore a dress every day. Hence, the apron. Kept the dress tidy. (Bet you haven't used the word 'tidy' in awhile.) In the photo gallery of my mind she is always wearing an apron. Remember Aunt Em in the Wizard of OZ? With the chicks in her apron?

That was my grandmother. She did that! She was a farmer's wife. And she always wore an apron. My grandfather ran a large ranch with quite a few hired hands that needed to be housed and fed. And with 2 growing sons to keep in tow, my grandmother had more than her share of messes to clean up. The apron kept her nice dress...nice.

My mother also wore an apron when cooking or working around the house.

That's me and my brother, Wally, and Mom in the kitchen in 1958.

Which brings up the proverbial ‘apron strings.’ We have an old saying: “tied to his mother’s apron strings.” Apparently, in the old days, a mother literally might tie one of her apron strings to a small child to keep him nearby while she worked and could keep him controlled. You don’t hear it much any more, but it means the man who is ‘tied’ cannot act for himself, needs his mommy, etc. I suppose that may have been the case, and may still be for many men. After all, most good men had a good mom. Ever notice that mothers and sons have a particular bond? Look it up. It’s factual stuff. So, I guess it is hard for some to break that bond. In many respects I am probably still tied to my mother’s apron strings…if that means she may still have a positive influence on me and how I act.

I was one of the lucky ones. When I was a little boy she sang to me at bedtime. She took care of the scraped knees and was always very encouraging. My mother had 3 children, and I am pretty sure I was her favorite. We had a healthy mother-son bond. She often would say, out of the blue..."You know what?" I always took the bait and replied, "What?" And she would smile and say, "I love you!"

My good mother, Dorothy Spindle, passed away 8 years ago at the age of 77. Her kindness, her smile, her patience, and the memory of her gentle voice, and sometimes goofy laugh, make for some nice apron strings. I'll keep them tied close to my heart.