Nano? Who? What’s this about aprons?

65 (ish) years ago a little girl was born in a small town in southern Ontario. She had a grandmother but found it hard to say grandma. For some reason, every time she tried the word on for size, it got mixed up in her mouth and came out N A N O. ( odd but true) Well, that little girl had some cousins and they thought if the word Nano was good enough for her it was good enough for them.

And so it began. Nano it was!

The little girl had a father and mother (obviously) and two aunties. The Aunties each had three of their own children who also called the little girl’s grandma, Nano. And then those aunties became grandmas who were called Nano. The one auntie had 8 grandchildren and you guessed it, those 8 grandchildren, every single one of them, called that grandma, Nano. I am one of the three children of this auntie/grandma and my children are three of the 8.
And now, 4 of the eight grandchildren have children of their own. (9 to be exact) They are great grandchildren to the second generation Nano and yes, they too call that grandma, Nano.
If you got all of that, well congratulations! It’s quite a mouthful but it’s true and worth hearing.
This last Nano, my mother, is quite a gal. As I write these words she has lived 92½ years and is going strong.
She has been making aprons for almost as far back as I can remember and that’s a long time.
Hundreds of aprons.
Her aprons are famous and worn by people all over this country.
We love her aprons.
We love her.
She has taught me a lot of good things.
Mostly, she taught me about baking, cooking, sharing so people would feel special.
We call that hospitality.
Now I find myself looking for opportunities. Opportunities to share hospitality.
Hospitality is one of my very favorite things.

Hospitality gets a bad rap. It isn’t hard. It doesn’t need to be onerous. It doesn’t mean you need to invite 10 people (or even 5) to your house for dinner. It could mean that, but it could also mean giving your server at the local coffee place an extra dollar. It could mean bringing your hair stylist a couple of cookies, or maybe taking some leftovers to the elderly lady at the end of your street.
Oh I have lots of ideas to share with you so stay in touch.

A good Word is a treasure, delicious food is a delight to eat and the beauty of the creator’s handiwork is a sight to see. Thoughts to ponder as you live your life this day and bloom where you are planted!