A Spoonful of Sugar

Growing up, Mary Poppins was by far my favorite movie. There was something so fun about this realistic, yet very magical nanny. I adored, and still do, the music and the dancing in the scenes. I loved the idea of being able to clean up a room by simply snapping a finger. It was amazing to imagine clothes and toys dancing merrily back into their properly assigned drawers and boxes. The movie, which derived from the collection of books authored by P.L. Travers, seems to make all of the chores children normally despise doing, rather enjoyable.  Years ago, when I heard the movie was coming to Broadway, I wanted to go. However, raising three young children, working part-time and fulfilling a master's degree have made finding the time to go somewhat of an issue. I was finally able to go this past weekend, thanks to my sister and her fiancé (they just got engaged Friday night). They bought us tickets as a Christmas present this year. Since we received the gift, I have been so excited to see the show and spend the afternoon in the city with my husband. As luck would have it, my husband woke up with strep throat and a 102.6 fever on Sunday morning and was unable to go. I was bummed, although fortunate enough to get my mother to take his place. The show was amazing. I highly recommend seeing it. It was just as magical as the movie and entailed more special effects than any other show I have seen on Broadway. It was fun, and like the TV commercial says, rather than making you feel like you are at a kid's show, the entertainers make you feel like a kid at the show. It was also a great day with my mother. Unfortunately we don't live very close to each other and it turned out to be an unexpected, perfect and rare opportunity to spend some quality time together.

Vocabulary

Realistic (adjective) - resembles real life

Magical (adjective) - produced by or as if by magic

Fiancé (noun) - a person engaged to be married

Engaged (adjective) - pledged to be married

Fortunate (adjective) - receiving good from uncertain or unexpected sources; lucky

Chores (noun) - a small or routine task

Bummed (adjective) - disappointed

Rare (adjective) - occurring far apart in time; unusual; uncommon

Entailed (verb) - to cause or involve by necessity or as a consequence

Fill in the Blank

1. The characters in the painting were _________.
2. The Disney vacation was _________.
3. Her __________ proposed to her on bended knee.
4. The __________ couple celebrated over dinner.
5. She was _________ it did not rain for her outdoor party.
6. The children complained about doing ________ around the house.
7. He was _________ she was not able to attend the party.
8. Meeting the President was a ______ opportunity.
9. The job _______ a lot of travelling.

Grammar Point

This blog is written primarily in the past tense. It also involves a magical element. Can you write about your own personal magical story using the past tense?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrnoR9cBP3o