Sunday, June 7, 2009

Sing-a-Long Sound of Music

The Sound of Music always, always makes me cry. It always has. But, one of the remarkable testaments to the true power of the film is this: I never cry at the same moment twice.

When I was very small, I cried when Mr. Von Trapp sings Edelweiss. It was a lullaby my mother sang to me. It always chokes me up to see a man crying.

When I was a teenager, I cried with Rolph abandons Liesel and reports her family to the Nazis. There isn't much more terrifying to a teenager than true love gone so horribly, horribly wrong.

A few years ago, I cried when the Mother Superior sings Climb Every Mountain. "Maria, the love between a man and woman is holy, too," she reassures Maria. I love that moment. What a powerful testament, even in the midst of a convent, how precious married love can be.

But last night, for the first time, I cried at the wedding scene. All out cried. I cried when the nuns walked Maria into the church, passing her off to her new step-daughter. I cried when Captain Von Trapp patiently waited at the altar for Maria to walk down the isle. I cried at Maria with her gorgeous dress, all of those well-wishers watching. And I cried when they both knelt in front of the bishop, with Liesel as a witness, to join each other in marriage.

Adam once laughed me for how hard he expects me to cry at our wedding. At the time, I wrote him off. But I think he may be right. Weddings are so beautiful, so meaningful... even when they're someone elses. I don't quite now how I'll respond to my own.

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