The Apron

Subject: THE APRON


My mom is 90 years old and wears an apron, a Zeigler apron EVERYDAY! She
will not do anything around the house without that apron on. She worked
for the R. L. Zeigler Company for 31 years and retired at 65, the year they closed the Bessemer, Alabama plant August 30, 1979. It broke her heart but I told her why we had to do this.

She is adament about that apron being a Zeigler apron. I think I have 3,
in various stages of wear, but 2 are clean all the time and hanging on the
wall on a coat rack in the breakfast room. She heads straight to that Zeigler
apron when she gets up in the morning. I am there by 8:30 or 9:00am and now I fix her breakfast and she now enjoys my cooking, a complete role reversal. But it is so nice, so good that I can now do this for her.

I read a story about grandma's apron and this stirred me to write his story of my mom and her apron. I grew up with mom cooking in the very kitchen
in the house she still lives in. She does not cook anymore but the
memories are all around me when I am there each day.

There are handwritten recipes, notes on what goes where, even a diagram written inside of a kitchen cabinet of what breakers affect what outlets in the house. One drawer in her kitchen has hammers, screwdrivers, plyers and other things she used to use to repair things around her house. There is a neat spice rack on one kitchen wall with nuts, bolts, washers, nails, and screws. All are in little jelly or spice jars she saved and there are her repair supplies neatly labeled.

Mom is 90. Mom has caregivers now that do for her as she did for others for so many years. It is a little sad but I walk away fullfilled each day. She can't do much for herself anymore and her memory is very selective but she is still my mom.
She still amazes me on what she can do.

She loves me just like I was her little kid of long ago. "Drive safely son." "Be careful son". "I love you son!"

I leave when the pm caregiver gets there and her are her words as I open the back door, "when will you be back?" "Tomorrow mom, I will wake you and fix your breakfast." "See you tomorrow morning, I love you!" "I love you too!"....She is my mom and she is 90!