Warning: Side effects may include insomnia and mild insanity

Saturday morning my mother called and told me to set my DVR to record TV Land because at one ‘o clock in the morning the network was going to take a break from their “That Girl” marathon to show the feel-good, liberal hippie children’s special “Free to Be…You and Me.”  She told me this because I absolutely loved this feel-good, liberal hippie special when I was a kid and wore the LP out from continuous playing.  If you don’t know what I mean by “LP”, get your iPod carrying self over to Wikipedia and read this entry stat because I really don’t want to have to explain vinyl and feel all old and stuff.

“Free to Be…” was all about diversity, acceptance and, most importantly, breaking out of gender roles.  The record and corresponding TV special were produced in 1974 and were really big around here, at least in my elementary school. The record included songs and skits meant to help kids accept different ideas and was pretty much my generation’s introduction to feminist ideology.  There’s the boy baby (voiced by Mel Brooks) who insists he must be a girl because he wants to be a cocktail waitress when he grows up and is devastated when he finds out he’s bald.  There’s William, the boy who wants nothing more than a baby doll to play with and Rosie Grier singing “It’s all right to cry.”  Our school sang the songs and performed the skits and I drove my parents wacko playing the record over and over again.

I sat down with Autumn and watched the special yesterday.  Since she has the attention span of a fruit fly, she didn’t sit for long but I could tell she was enthralled with the songs. So was I. Would you believe I still knew the lyrics to many of them?  I can’t remember the last time I played that record.  I believe I still have it, but it’s been ages since I owned a turntable and by the time I was a teenager I had pledged my devotion to the ultra-portable cassette tape.  Can anyone say Walkman? 

Watching “Free to Be…” took me back 25 years and made me nostalgic for the old days.  Pretty much anything that takes me out of the present is welcome right now because Autumn is cutting her molars and has turned into a shrieking, irritable hell-child.  I’m probably exaggerating, but Nathan and I are planning a date night that we hope will happen soon because we both need to get out of the house for some alone time.

So, feeling nostalgic, I checked on iTunes and wouldn’t you know the “Free to Be..” album is there to buy in its entirety. I was tickled and added it to my mental music wish-list.  I received an iTunes gift card for my birthday but have already used it to download mostly Motown and Christmas tracks so I’ll have to wait to see if Santa’s going to give me more free music for Christmas.

Anyone exposed to children’s music for any period of time knows how hard it is to get that music out of your head and “Free to Be…” is no exception.  I went to bed last night with “William’s Doll” stuck in my head and had a hell of a time getting to sleep.  I woke up with the “Free to Be…” theme song and have had varying chords and melodies floating through my mind since.  It’s been driving me crazy, actually, and I’m starting to wonder if I want to download the album.  The thought of passing something I loved on to my daughter is part of the trill of being a parent though, even if it means jeopardizing my sanity to do so.