The History of Aprons

My sweet friend, Connie, made me a fun pink and brown polka dot apron for my birthday(picture of Becky w/apron & Cricket -- smoothie and can of soup on the counter -- the items that I am still eating with my liquid/soft diet)
with the following note:
The History of Aprons
The principal use of grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on ocassion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold Grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the menfolks knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.
They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.When I think of both my grandmas I remember them wearing an apron. This fun apron is almost inspiring me to go in the kitchen and cook!