For a while, Mary Poppins and I were "on the outs".
My husband, David, planned an amazing family vacation to Disneyworld and as part of the experience, he made sure we had breakfast with Mary Poppins. I was extremely excited to meet my favorite nanny. After all, I can say and sing all of her lines from the movie. Imagine how devastated I was when Mary's first words to me were "Those are an awful lot of pastries on your plate. I hope that is because you are on holiday." Definitely not the "spoonful of sugar" moment I had envisioned. I remember feeling momentarily defeated consoling myself by enjoying the aforementioned pastries. A few months later I saw "Saving Mr. Banks", and realized that even practically perfect people have baggage. In this case, that baggage belonged to Mary's creator, PL Travers. As I left the theater, I thought to myself, what if Walt Disney had let her baggage stop him ---no spoonful of sugar, no jumping into sidewalks, no dancing on the rooftops, or laughing on the ceiling. How tragic that would have been!
My husband, David, planned an amazing family vacation to Disneyworld and as part of the experience, he made sure we had breakfast with Mary Poppins. I was extremely excited to meet my favorite nanny. After all, I can say and sing all of her lines from the movie. Imagine how devastated I was when Mary's first words to me were "Those are an awful lot of pastries on your plate. I hope that is because you are on holiday." Definitely not the "spoonful of sugar" moment I had envisioned. I remember feeling momentarily defeated consoling myself by enjoying the aforementioned pastries. A few months later I saw "Saving Mr. Banks", and realized that even practically perfect people have baggage. In this case, that baggage belonged to Mary's creator, PL Travers. As I left the theater, I thought to myself, what if Walt Disney had let her baggage stop him ---no spoonful of sugar, no jumping into sidewalks, no dancing on the rooftops, or laughing on the ceiling. How tragic that would have been!
As an administrator, there are moments that deflate you ---- a critical email from a parent, a complaint from a teacher, a student who tests your patience. Most of the time those behaviors are due to baggage. It's so easy to freeze that parent, teacher, or student in that moment. To let that moment be the lens through which you view them, but I urge all of us to push past the baggage. Let it be one stop on an ongoing journey of understanding those you serve. That critical parent can also be a faithful volunteer. That complaining teacher might be your strongest innovator. That rascally student might be your greatest teacher. There are treasures beyond the baggage.
