Pie Crusts and Apron Strings

Photo: Megan Meyers, click for license

There was a time when an apron was daily garb for wives and mothers.  They donned their cooks' aprons, in the morning, and went about their work.  Initially, aprons protected the precious few dresses that a woman owned.  In the 1950s, it was the quintessential symbol of the housewife.  With the advent of feminism, aprons went the way of bras...straight to the fire, or at least, the back of the closet.

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Aprons are making a comeback these days, often in retro styles, and with a bit of frill and sass. I suspect this reflects more of a resurgence of acknowledgement  of and hunger for  the value of homekeeping and traditional women's work, than it does a love of the apron itself.  Although, aprons are pretty great.

Aprons represent grandma, homemade pie crusts, and mom being home to meet the kids after school...and with cookies.  I believe that in this era of post-post-feminism, we are discovering that reaching for the power and cultural affirmation afforded to men by rejecting things traditionally womanly did not serve us well,... particularly in the long run.  My observations of society, and my woman's intuition, tell me that women, whether they wish to be in the workplace or not, are hungering for the warmth of home.  I suspect that the collective female consciousness has recognized that we lost something along the way, and that, perhaps, our children are particularly suffering for it.

Photo: Beck Striepe, click for license

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I'm not sure if it's too late to recapture what we lost, or if we need to start fresh in reclaiming our territory as keepers of the hearth, but I suggest that we all consider tying on an apron, and doing some nurturing, because we are awfully good at it.  Heaven knows, folks could use some nurturing these days.  Women are powerful builders, healers, and nurturers.  It's time to take back the traditional tools of the trade and get going.  We have a lot of healing, of ourselves and of society, to do.


Pax Christi,
~Michelle