everything I needed to know about sex and life and love I learned from Meatloaf

Growing up, my parents exposed me a lot of awesome and different bands and musicians - basically everything from AC/CD to Katrina & the Waves to the Eagles to Dr. Hook to Joe Walsh to Bette Midler. I consider myself lucky that I had such great parents; they really let me listen to a wide variety of things and make up my mind on my own time. And on top of that, when I found a band or singer I really liked, they did their best to let me tag along to concerts (like Meat Loaf and the Eagles)! It's something I try to do with Sidney as often as I can; I know she's still young, but I want music to grab ahold of her like it has me and completely change her life. I want to have moments with her like I had with my Mom, dancing around crazy singing as loud as we possibly can to "Walking on Sunshine" while we 'clean' the house. Moments like that are irreplaceable - made for free and treasured forever.

It was while listening to Meatloaf that I learned everything I'd ever need to know about sex. Now, this may stirke some of you odd for one of two reasons I can think of. One being that Meatloaf is not by many standards considered a 'sexy' man. He's fat and sweaty and wild and crazy - not exaclty a D'Angelo kind of sex god. Two being that most people either really love or really hate his music. I am on the really love side of the fence; my husband is on the really hate side. Sure his music isn't exactly mainstream - it's got a rock opera kind of quality to it (most of his songs greatly exceed five minutes) that a lot of people just don't dig. I've learned this little nugget during my many years of arguing with people - the same old "how can you NOT like Meatloaf" conversation I have over and over and over again. So, I get it - if you already have made up your mind that you hate Meatloaf then you probably won't get much from this post. But if you're open-minded (or you already love Meatloaf) then you might be able to see yourself somewhere in here.

I remember acting out the song "Paradise by The Dashboard Light" with my cousins Stephanie (Dobby) and Samantha.

We used to take turns singing the boy v. girl parts - and we never really understood any of it. We got the idea that it was talking about 'sex' (even though we weren't 100% sure what 'sex' was all about either) but we never knew how incredibly filthy that song is until we got much much much older.

"And now our bodies are oh so close and tight. It never felt so good, it never felt so right..."

Yeah, we never understood 90% of it 'til much later. All we knew was it had a good beat and a storyline and different parts for us to act out (and it had baseball in there, so it couldn't have been that bad - I mean, our Dads played baseball after all)!

Another favorite of mine was "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)" - it still reminds me of summer and the windows let down and music blaring from the car.

I can smell the air and feel the wind. I feel free and happy and alive. I never really understood that song either until I got older. Not really. It wasn't until much later in life that I finally got that song - and then it started to mean 1,000x more to me than before. Suddenly it wasn't just about summer and kissing boys - it was passion and desire and youth and fire and love and lust. All the things that combine to make you feel like a kid, young and dumb and crazy in love. Those things that help to make you feel alive.

"Now my body is shaking like a wave on the water and I guess that I'm beginning to grin. We're finally alone and we can do what we want. The night is young and ain't no one gonna know where you been..."

Of course Meatloaf helped teach me about heartbreak, too - that love and sex aren't always easy. That sometimes you have to let go, even though that means taking the long, hard road. I always told myself as a kid that whenever I broke up with a boy, I'd play him "Two Out Three Ain't Bad" and then I wouldn't have to say anything; that'd Meatloaf would just let him down easy and through the power of that song, he'd understand and we'd be okay. (I don't think I ever played that song to an ex, thankfully - thinking back on it, that's such a corny thing to do)!

"I poured it on and I poured it out. I tried to show you just how much I care. I'm tired of words and I'm too hoarse to shout but you've been cold to me so long, I'm crying icicles instead of tears..."

And later on in life when Meatloaf released "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" my gal cousins and I spent countless hours singing and acting out this video.

I don't think any of us understood what the "that" was he kept talking about - to be honest I'm not even 100% sure I know what he's talking about still. (I think he's saying he'd do anything for love except hurt the person he truly loves for more or different love)

"I know the territory, I've been around; It'll all turn to dust and we'll all fall down. Sooner or later you'll be screwing around....I won't do that."

I don't think there's another artist or band out there, save for the Eagles, that has impacted my life so much with such meaning. At every point and time in my life, Meatloaf's music makes sense to me. Through every problem and every relationship and every goal I reach, I can find truth in what he sings. His voice carries me through bad times and lifts me up. I know some people might say it's silly to think that music can be so powerful, can have such depth - but it does. For me, it truly does. As I've grown, I've been able to hear more in music than I ever did before. Lyrics suprass beats, words become true to me - and I understand things I never realized before. It's something I treasure - and hope to share with my children. I hope to teach them to listen to music, to revisit songs they loved before to see how it makes them feel today. I am so grateful for this musical education of mine. I feel nothing but gratitude towards my parents for giving me this gift, for not sheltering me from things because they weren't considered suitable or mainstream or what have you.

They gave me my Meatloaf. And I ate every bit of it up. No okay a little pun intended.