Mary Poppins Wisdom

I grew up with Mary Poppins.

Perhaps you think you did too, if you’re of a certain age. But I really mean I grew up with Mary Poppins.  My magnificent mother, an English Lady of fine breeding, was in many ways the embodiment of all things Julie Andrews (to us). We had great cultural privilege as children born of an enviable surrogate of a Maria von Trapp and Mary Poppins hybrid.
Tea and cookies at 4pm every day.

Mom and Julie were even born in the same year: 60 days apart, of parents from the same English county (practically).  And just like Mary Poppins, Helen Mary Wessel Althoff Moultrup is practically perfect in everyway. I think that makes me an expert.

In the story, our favorite nanny is loaded with portable quips that I personally use as often as I can with full Oxford English accent.

“Enough is as good as a feast.”

“Well begun is half done.”

“Never judge things by their appearance (I’m sure I never do)”

Indeed, there’s much more to Poppins Wisdom than pithy one-liners. Mary Poppins creates mystery and wonder in every encounter because of what she does … as a simple matter of her natural gifts.

“I always say, the best place for a hat is on a hat stand,” nonchalantly chanted as she raises a 5 foot brass stand out of an apparently empty carpet bag.  And remember her very serious approach to floating on the ceiling while properly holding a teacup, and popping through a chalk painting with exasperation, after Bert makes a mockery with his own attempt.

It’s all so simple, don’t you see? “Why must we make things so complicated!?”

Mary Poppins is a concerned citizen. She sings the somber “Feed the Birds” with a sense of a deeper importance, dramatically forcing us to get chills and growing compassion for the old woman on the

cathedral steps. She teaches us that a life striving to see and help those in need will have ripple effects.

She also knows her role; that her impact on these children’s lives would be brief and critical. In that, she knows how to be influential.  Remember her shrewd convincing of Mr. Banks to take his children to work with him, which, along with the poor old woman on the steps, became the disruptive catalyst to his awakening into fatherhood. The humiliation… the bash on the head that he needed.

Finally, in the glorious conclusion of bringing this family to a new understanding of success, not any of Mary Poppins’ concern is about her fame or recognition. Her cranky umbrella Parrot blasts the Banks family for not acknowledging the miracles she created as they happily skip off to fly a kite.

She simply responds, “That’s as it should be” as she floats off into the changing wind.

We learn, perhaps more from this 1964 cherished tale, than we realize.   May we bring our love to the world unabashed and unashamed and know that the impact of our love is important to the hearts who receive it, and that’s all that matters.