25 April 2021 – Mary Poppins was my favorite Disney film and one of my favorite movies for much of my life. I love everything about it. The dance numbers, Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, the story, the lessons and of course the music. The movie profoundly spoke to me. I grasped onto Mary Poppins. I wanted to be like her, change people’s lives like her, and have a friend like Bert. I have carried so many of the quotes and lessons learned with me throughout my life.

“Practically Perfect In Every Way.” Shortly after we meet Mary Poppins, we find that this is how she measures herself. I internalized that quote. I wanted to live into that quote and have it said about me.

“Begun is half done.” and “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.” Anyone who knows my work ethic knows that I definitely exemplify these quotes, and I expect the same from everyone around me. I love to make the workday fun and motivate those around me, but I need cooperation. Beginning is the hardest step – don’t waste time complaining about a task; just do it. Once you start, you’ve done the hard part – now finish it. Nothing, except lying, annoys me more than when someone doesn’t do their job. Three steps, start, finish and have fun doing it. It’s easy! Well, it is to me. Complain, waste time and ignore are not part of the task. I am sure this is why some of my supervisors and coworkers and I have not always seen eye to eye.

“First of all, I would like to make one thing clear: I never explain anything.” Mary Poppins shows how to be assertive yet kind when she says this. This lesson is one we all need to learn, and this quote embodies a strong way to live. If we live our lives kindly and purposefully, we should never need to explain our actions. For many years, I would respond to my husband, children, and friends using this same quote. It didn’t always go over well, which is why I don’t say it anymore. Instead, I caveat almost everything I say or do so that others understand me. Basically, I explain everything.

“Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down in the most delightful way!” Kindness and love are the keys to a happy day. I have always thought of this quote and the corresponding song as a metaphor for handling all difficult things in life. Anything painful, hard, distressing, agonizing if handled with hope and grace will make things much easier. I have tried to always support my friends and family with kindness and love to make their situations more palatable. Unfortunately, despite my love for this quote, I rarely think of it when I am in my own harrowing situations.

“Why Do You Always Complicate Things That Are Really Quite Simple?” Let me count the times I have made mountains out of molehills or overreact to a situation. I can take anything and make it complicated. I can take something someone says and read between the lines and get a catastrophe. I can take silence and turn it into the end of the world. No matter what a person does, I always assume it isn’t good. I am not sure why I do this. As I said, I do everything out of love and kindness. How come I can’t believe others do the same? Why is silence a bad thing? Can’t it mean someone is contemplating?

“Never judge things by their appearance… even carpetbags. I’m sure I never do.” We have all heard this throughout our lives in various forms, yet we all do it. I am often guilty of judging things before I really understand them: people, places, food, books, movies and activities. I didn’t think I was judgmental until I stopped to really examine my life. When you have a lot of time alone, you tear your life apart microscopically, and you learn things about yourself you didn’t really want to know. I have learned that I have hurt and disappointed others and missed out on so many things because of my ridiculous judgments. Fortunately, I have the opportunity to change that now.

“Sometimes a person we love, through no fault of their own, can’t see past the end of his nose.” To me, this quote is all about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and forgiveness. If I live my life with love and kindness and I don’t mean to hurt others, why can’t that be true of them? If perception is reality, I just need to change my view. I need to see and understand that others are not purposely trying to hurt me. When I look past the end of my own nose, I can see the real person. I can love and forgive.

“Don’t You Know That Everybody’s Got A Fairyland Of Their Own?” Fairyland? Really? I am a very logical, thinking, rational person. I have lived my life without much sense of wonder. I have always been organized with a list of things to be done. I have always had a clear, rational plan for today, tomorrow and forever. Never have I imagined my own fairyland until recently. What a wondrous idea. Now that my life is completely open-ended with nothing really planned or laid out, I have the freedom to imagine my fairyland. Don’t get me wrong, it’s terrifying, and I haven’t actually done it, but I can. Maybe one day I will.

Because Mary Poppins lived her life with purpose, assertiveness and kindness, she could internalize these quotes and live them daily. This is why she could be measured as practically perfect in every way. I was idealizing life and myself when I thought I could be measured the same way. I still want to live my life as well as I can with as much love and kindness and forgiveness as possible, with my own little fairyland thrown in. Fortunately, I have learned that Imperfectly Perfect is more than acceptable.