Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Aprons Are Coming

We're looking forward to our May special events. Some we have for the public, but some we have for us as library workers, also.
We found out that May 14th is National Apron Day. So, in honor of Mother's Day, we have decided to play up the aprons.
Many of our kids today don't know what an apron is, but when our grandmothers wore them, it was a multipurpose tool. Just look at what the apron was used for:
** drying children's tears and cleaning out dirty ears,
** carrying eggs or baby chicks,
** wiping a prespiring brow bent over a hot stove,
** carrying wood and kindling, vegetables, or peaches,
** dusting the furniture fast as company drove up the road, and
** waving to the workers in the field when lunch was ready.
Of course, no one ever thought about all the germs that must have been hiding on those aprons, but it seems no little child ever got sick from hiding behind one.
And to tie in with the aprons, our Children's Book Pick of the Month will be Ma Dear's Aprons by Patricia C. McKissack. It's illustrated with beautiful pictures by Floyd Cooper. The story is a tribute to the author's great-grandmother, Leanna Crossley Bowens, who was lovingly called Ma Dear (a short form of mother dear), and the countless other domestic workers of her generation.
On May 5th through 7th, you'll see some of us ladies here at the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library with our aprons on. And while we wear them, we'll be thinking about our mamas and all they did for us, and still do for us.
Then, when Mother's Day comes on Sunday, May 10th, we'll honor them even more with white and red flowers, and share our memories of them with others.

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