Making out with Julie Andrews

Over Christmas break my family (my wife and five daughters and I) watched the Sound of Music.  This was the first time the kids had seen the film.  They love to sing and dance and sometimes I want to ship them to Austria.  Perfect fit, right?

The film was a total hit.  My kids were spellbound by the antics of the children and the downright colorfulness of the movie.  Julie Andrews hypnotized them with her voice and by the fact that she was a rebellious nun.  My Catholic kids got a kick out of that.

The part that absolutely left me in stitches was when the Captain finally called off his engagement to the baroness and decided to let his feeling be known for his convent bound governess.  They find each other in the garden under the gazebo and begin singing to one another, like you do.  Finally, the moment comes when only a kiss can seal the deal.  I look over at my 4, 6, 8 and 10 year old sitting on the couch.  They are leaning in like they are trying to with a marathon.  The kiss happens and all four of them bury themselves under pillows.  The 8 year old yells, "Don't you know she's a nun!"  The 10 year old cries out in terror, "Oh my gosh!!!!"  My 6 year old says in a calm voice, "I knew they were going to do it."  4 year old remains silent.  My 1 year old spits up milk on the floor, cause you know, thats what they do.

My wife and I are dying laughing.  When they kiss again, I actually yell out, "Boom!"  To which my girls are all now giggling and loving every minute.  The movie continues.  They are now a family and the real drama escalates.

You know the story.  The Captain doesn't want to be a Nazi so he attempts to escape the country.  They sing.  They hide.  They walk to Switzerland.  Like you do.

The best part about the experience was at the end of the movie.  The family is walking to freedom to start a new life when the captions begin to roll.  My 8 year old bellows, "That can't be the end?  What happens next?  I want to know how everything turns out!"

Exactly.

I want to know how everything will turn out for my family.  I want my girls to be self-confident amazing women.  I want them to be wonderful moms, singles, or religious if they are called so by the Lord.  The key here is that the real story is in the adventure.  It is in the unknown.  Just as we all think things couldn't get any better, we are usually dosed with a big plate of unknown.

The Christian man or woman must be at peace in this environment.  Unknown simply means someone else is steering the ship.  Isn't this what we are called to through our baptism?

Thank you Rogers and Hammerstein for illustrating drama and family adventure.  Thank you Julie Andrews for making out with a Captain and re-telling the world that love dictates all.