The Life Balance Lessons of Mary Poppins

But I was surprised by the life balance lessons that I found in recently seeing Mary Poppins, the musical. By no means did the balance lessons overshadow the staging, the outstanding performances or Mary Poppins, not only flying across the stage but the space above my head, eighth row center.  The balance lessons just seemed to have jumped out at me, resonating in a way that demanded attention.  Maybe it was the fact that I'd spent most of the day writing my article "30 Days in the Life of a Balanced CPA after April 15^th". My mind was already pretty focused on balance. I was having 30 days of fun, a truly balanced life after a season of work, work and more work.  Going to see Mary Poppins was just one more event in my 30 days of post April 15^th fun. I hadn't really considered seeing this production until my friend Bev asked if I would join her.  She grew up in Manchester, England where Mary Poppins was most assuredly an icon in her childhood.   She was so excited that the musical was coming to town. Always one to enjoy a good musical, I happily obliged.

I didn't remember Mary Poppins as series of books.  The original books, written by P.L. Travers and illustrated by Mary Shepard were published in 1934, with sequels following in 1935, 1943, and 1952.  Maybe I didn't know because I wasn't even born! By the time that additional stories were published in 1975, 1982 and 1988, I was well beyond my childhood years. Reading Mary Poppins would not have been on my agenda. 

What I remember is Mary Poppins, the movie. Julie Andrews was Mary and Dick Van Dyke played Bert.  I haven't seen the movie probably since I was a child, more years ago than I'd care to count.  I was 10 when the movie was first released in 1964. My childhood memories were without question about the magic and mystery of Mary Poppins.  

If I've even thought about Mary Poppins since, it probably would have been a reference to the song "Lets' Go Fly a Kite". I have a faint recollection of flying a kite with my nieces and nephews many years ago. I would clearly have indulged the temptation to sing the song for them for it surely would have sparked some giggles and laughter. For as many videos or DVDs that I've watched with the kids countless times over the last 20 years, I don't remember Mary Poppins being one of them.  Now Little Mermaid, that one I remember clearly seeing over and over and over!

The movie was an adaptation of the books, the musical, first opening in London in 2004 and then in New York in November 2006 was an adaptation of both.  An in the interim, I aged from a 10 year old girl to an almost 55 year old women.

So seeing Mary Poppins now I've lived a live.  No longer a doe-eyed girl looking to play, I'm a mature adult who is still looking to play.  Hmmm, isn't that interesting. The difference now is that my adult life is a complex mix of work and play and friends and family, juggling everything at once.  Life at 55 is not life at 10. And so, as an adult I could watch Mary Poppins and filter the same things that I saw as a child through totally different eyes. 

This time I saw beyond the magic that Mary Poppins brought to the lives of Jane and Michael Banks.  Bert, Mary Poppins friend is a happy-go-lucky kind of guy.  He appears satisfied with his life as a chimney sweep. Bert's biggest ambition seems to be taking his relationship with Mary to another level. But Mary made it quite clear that she was content to be "just friends".  Mary's independent spirit was ever present. She was the magical nanny who literally swept into the Banks' household to bring some much needed fun, harmony and a sense of cohesiveness to the family, things that were sorely lacking in their lives.

It was George and Winifred Bank's journeys, together and separately that decidedly tapped into my balance radar.  Mrs. Winifred Banks, wife of George, is portrayed differently in the books, the movie and the stage production.  In the musical, she's a former actress who is under constant pressure from her husband to become part of his social structure.  Winifred is lonely in every role in her life.  The nanny handles the kids, the cook takes care of the meals and the butler is there to tend to the rest of the household matters. Not a life that most people can relate to, especially in today's economic climate.  Winifred doesn't seem to have any friends, or at least friends that George approves of.  As for her marriage, it seems to have lost its luster. George comes home from work and seems to immediately retreat to his study, ignoring both Winifred and the children. The children crave their father's attention but he's blind to the yearning in their voices and in their eyes.

George Bank's moment of humanity comes at work.  George works at the Bank in the City of London. He makes a loan decision that put one borrower's integrity and purpose ahead of another sleazy mover and shaker who is out to make a quick buck. Ask any business owner the last time that their bank generously loaned them money on the promise of a good idea and I suspect you'd hear a hearty laugh. George's superiors are furious with his decision as the shyster's business has taken off exponentially. George cost them profits, his future at the bank is in jeopardy.  He's put on leave awaiting a decision from the all male board of directors. During this leave time, George Banks is a lonely pathetic mess, still shutting out his family. He feels sorry for himself and drinks to absolve his woes. Of course it is also during this time that with the help of Mary Poppins he finally sees the error of his ways in respect to his family. George realizes that his family is more important than his job.  He may lose his job but he needs his family. And they need him. He finally communicates with his wife, telling her that he knows that he needs to make time for her.  Together they need rediscover the good times that they shared when they first met.  And of course, he finally makes time to fly a kite with his son Michael, something he's promised to do seemingly forever.  As it turns out, the fast buck deal exploded as a fraud, crippling the banks that did commit loan capital. By choosing not to originally make that loan, George has by default, saved the bank.  Better yet, the entrepreneur that George did extend the loan to not only repaid it in full but created new employment for the community.  George's job is not only safe, he gets a promotion.  All is right with the Banks family once again.  So right, that Mary Poppins can fly away and help another family that needs her.  In Mary Poppins there was a happy ending.  

But the truth of the matter is that in real life, everything does not have a happy ending.   We don't usually have a Mary Poppins that comes into our lives to help with our children and the rest of our lives.  We may not realize that family comes first before it is too late. We may ignore our children, knowingly or unknowingly.  We may not have friends to lean on, someone to talk to or someone to help us through our crises.  And in today's economic climate, money to pay our mortgages, money to keep our families afloat might just be the overriding center of our existence. Why does it seem that it takes a tragedy before a life lesson is learned?  How many times does an illness occur, the warning signs of stress conveniently ignored before we learn to change our lives? If I have to even ask the question, the answer is obvious. I know of friends who in the midst of a prolonged layoff have used their time off to explore new career options, seek new ways to grow.  But often this is the exception rather than the rule.  Here's a story originally written in 1934 where the life issues of today were the same.  Have we not learned lessons from one generation to the next in how to better live a life?  Or have we all been too busy chasing a dollar, raising our children, growing a business to step back and take stock in what matters. 

I went to Mary Poppins for an evening of fun and frolic, a good time with my good friend Bev.  I got my money's worth and so much more.  As an adult I could enjoy Mary Poppins for all the fun that it was and is and still cull the life lessons from it in a meaningful way. I could recognize that I've made the decisions in my business and personal life that came to George and Winifred later rather than sooner.  I don't leave every play with the same sense of life balance lessons.  But for whatever reason, on this day at this time at this play, I did.  And recognizing those lessons added to the enjoyment in a way that I could not have anticipated. It was a simple reminder that no matter how different our lives are in many ways they are all the same, from one generation to the next.