O Captain, My Captain!

I've spent nearly every Easter for the past ten years away from home, which means my most consistent Easter companion has been the dreamy Captain von Trapp.

Oh, be still my heart!

I can't remember the first time I saw The Sound of Music, but a great deal of my childhood was spent with either the Babysitters Club or Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. The Sound of Music quickly became my favorite. I frequently re-enacted the story line with my Barbies, and it was something I always looked forward to seeing at Easter (none of that Ten Commandments business for me!).

When I was eight or nine my mother scoured the used bookstores to find me the book Maria had written; it was shabby when I got it, and I quickly loved the cover right off of it. I was surprised to learn how different the real story was from the musical. A few years ago when my aunt came back from a trip to Austria (watch out Salzburg, I'll get there one day!) and Switzerland with another book about the SoM for me, I was even more shocked to learn that the famous "Edelweiss" is not a real Austrian folk song. That one still hurts.

I think what I love most about my captain is how he opens up. Yes, he whistles for his children, but he always looks fantastic (especially when his hair is rumpled!), and I fall for the line "I fell in love with you when you sat on that ridiculous pine cone" every time. And he's honest, ladies (that's so important!) like when he confesses to the baroness that he's not in love with her. What a gentleman! And he sings! <swoon> And don't forget he leads his family across the Alps to freedom! (Not in real life, readers, but let's go with the romantic movie version, shall we?)

In my opinion, the wedding is one of the best scenes in the movie. My mom thinks there's something "Maria-like" about my dress. I'm not sure if I agree with that assessment, but as you'll see when I eventually reveal my dress, it is very simple like Maria's, and I have a super-long veil that will be following me down the very long aisle of a very grand Catholic church. There's nothing wrong with using my wedding day to fulfill part of a long-held SoM fantasy as long as I realize I'm marrying my fiance and not the captain, right?

I could go on, but it's getting late and I have to teach tomorrow, and you know what they say...

No, nevermind... Too obvious. I'll spare us all that one. : )