When we were little, my sister, Katherine, used to ask our Mom,
"What's an Apronon??"
She couldn't figure out what Mom meant when she would say, as she began to prepare dinner, "I need to get my apron on."
As a result, we still call aprons, "Apronons."
When my girls and I make cookies or lefse, someone goes looking for the apronons, which are hanging on a nail in the pantry. When I am cleaning up a messy kitchen with greasy slop, I reach for an apronon. And I always wear an apronon when making spaghetti, so it won't splatter onto my clothes. The men in our family even put on apronons when they carve the turkey at Thanksgiving, or clean up the holiday dishes.
I like wearing apronons. I only have a few of them, but they serve me well. Mine are the kind tie around your neck and back, and are made of sturdy material. My sister has a darling collection of kitschy apronons, and has used them for decoration in her kitchen. It looks great!
You know, when I tie my apronon I feel a kind of connection to my Mom and Grandmothers, who always wore their apronons not just for cooking, but for cleaning as well. Generations past also had housecoats, or housedresses: loose comfortable dresses that women wore while they did their household chores. They weren't nearly as attractive as the apronons, they were more like apronon's Ugly Cousins.
You can buy some super cute apronons these days, and I highly recommend going out and purchasing one or two. Mine are the practical kind, made for barbequing and tough enough that a man won't feel awkward wearing them. I do like my man to feel at home in an apronon.
But I think I'm going to upgrade my apronons to something a little more feminine, something June Cleaver would wear. I'm still inspired to take my business here at home seriously enough to invest in what I need to feel professional.
Professional AND cute. Look at this one I found at wrapables.com:
Apronons are just the thing.
