Dreadlocks

I have a secret infatuation with the idea of getting dreads. Much to Rogers distress and mortification I might add.

There are many parts of me that logically explain to my more illogical (primal? natural?) self all the reasons that a head full of dreads would be incredibly innapropriate. For one, I cannot imagine my mother and father-in-law would be all that impressed. Two, my husband is a podiatrist with a certain image to uphold, one that does not include a hippy wife. Three, my kids are about to start attending a well known, Catholic Girls School, complete with a Ladies Auxilliary Committee, if you don’t mind…. how would it look if I rocked up to serve high tea with the nuns and the priests with dreadlocks? And how will my kids like being the ones with the feral mama?

But then the other side of me says…. to hell with convention! What sort of an example do I want to set for my kids- that it is important to fit in, no matter what the cost, that you must comply with certain norms in order to portray an image that shows that you belong within a particular social context? Or do I want to demonstrate that it is ok to step outside the square, to have courage to be who you want to be irrespective of those around you?

Whilst I know in my heart that I don’t have the guts to take the step to actually do it, part of me feels wistful that I am not brave enough to feel free from the expectations placed on me by the vast societal contraints of the life I have chosen to lead.