I'm Covered

The shirts I wear to work have the logo of the preschool on them.  I get to pick the style myself; they're all cotton knit and predominantly t-shirts. Every morning I choose one from the supply hanging in the closet.

I try to keep the shirts in good shape, because they only do the logos a couple of times a year.  I wash them carefully, and hang them up to dry.  The oldest shirts have been around for an entire year, and I'd like them to last as long as possible.  However, my clothes take a beating each day.  I never know what's going to end up on a shirt--dirt, paint, marker, or food.  Now that I'm working with two and three year olds, someone is often wiping their tears or runny nose on my shoulder.  At the end of the day, the first thing I do is drop the dirty shirt in the laundry basket.

I decided I wanted to wear a white t-shirt today, but I was a bit paranoid.  The last two times I've worn it, I've had to change before I even left the house.  One time I dribbled coffee down the front, and the other I noticed a big splotch of something unknown at the bottom.  I decided to throw on an apron to protect it while I ate breakfast and did my "morning jobs". 

There are two aprons hanging in the laundry room that were a Christmas present from my Sister-in-law many years ago.  The one I chose today is purple, with a large applique of a cherubic toddler holding a puppy.  Underneath the picture she wrote "Kathy's Kitchen' with puffy paint, and drew flowers and vines around the picture and words.  The apron is well-loved; the paint is cracking and coming off in spots and there's several stains that won't come out in the laundry

Thanks to my apron, I made it through breakfast without any mishaps, and managed to stay clean when I took the coffee grounds out to the compost pile. When I was watering some plants I managed to spill the accumulated water from the saucer.  If I hadn't had the apron on, the shirt would have been a dirty mess!

Time got away from me. I had to gather my things and leave the house quickly so I wouldn't be late to work. I pulled into the parking lot with seconds to spare, and was in the process of grabbing my purse when I realized that something didn't feel right.  I looked down and saw the apron, which I had forgotten about.  I thought about wearing it into the building for weirdness, but it covered up the shirt logo, so I took it off and threw it on the passenger seat.