P.L. Travers
A Mary Poppins Mother’s Day
So, my Mother’s Day didn’t go exactly as one might hope. The eve of, I picked up my crying daughter from her crib, only to get covered in diarreah. The morning of, I woke up feeling like a piano was sitting on my chest,with a yucky cold. I hated to miss church because on Mother’s Day not only do all the children sing to you, but the men all bring these marvelous treats for the women to eat during the women’s meeting. Furthermore, I was supposed to pick someone up, and help with the children’s meeting, so it was actually a lot of work not to go.
My husband couldn’t help because he’d been working all night and needed to sleep before working all night again. After debating the possibilities, I finally concluded I really couldn’t (and shouldn’t!) go to church. THANKFULLY I made this decision, because just as we would have been in the car on the way, my 4-year-old threw up. Yes, it truly was quite the day.
So when I got my two sickies down to sleep, I proposed to my 7-year-old that we watch Mary Poppins. I loved this movie as a kid (I even learned how to say Supercalifragilisticexpialadocious backwards – Docious-ali-expi-istic-fragi-cali-rupus, in case you were wondering). My son would never watch it before, but since we don’t usually watch movies on Sunday, he jumped at the chance.
This time was the charm. He loved it! And of course I loved it all over again. I even had to watch the “making of” portion in the Bonus Features. That’s when my son lost interest.
Still, I found it fascinating. Did you know that Walt Disney spent 20 years trying to get the rights to film this movie? P.L. Travers didn’t want to see her work desecrated by Hollywood. But Disney had fallen in love with the book, and he never stopped trying. He just knew that it was something worth pursuing. (Sound familiar?)
And did you know that Julie Andrews only accepted the part of Mary Poppins after she failed to get the role of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady? If you recall, that part went to the inimitable Audrey Hepburn. But guess who won the Oscar for Best Actress that year? I’ll give you a hint: it didn’t go to Audrey Hepburn. Ms. Andrews’ amazing success in Mary Poppins only came because she was first rejected. (Funny enough, she actually thanked the producer of My Fair Lady in her acceptance speech at the Oscars!)
So I won’t slam the morals down your throat, I’m sure you can see how these great stories might apply to us. But I will show you the picture my son drew while I was watching the “making of.”
Recognize it? If you don’t, go watch it again. If you’ve never seen it . . . well hurry and rectify that! Mary Poppins is an inspirational film. So simple, yet so complex. And even though my day may not have been all one might hope, I’m okay with that. Somehow, after seeing this movie with my son, I don’t feel so gloomy. And that’s the best a storyteller can hope for, isn’t it?