I just got a proper shave. Before and After...you have to guess which is which:

I've kept a pretty full beard for close to 5 years now. Before that, I would let some facial hair grow over the winter, shave it off in the late spring. I remember running the Mt Desert Isle Marathon, 2008, with a full beard going on. But memory is a funny thing, I also remember deciding to keep a beard ahead of my second round of brain surgery ( nothing serious, but don't you think I should be able to drink out on that for a lot longer?). I was worried about several possible negative outcomes. Deaf. Stupid. But the one I could prepare for was facial paralysisI've grown to love a beard. Who hasn't? But as Springsteen says: " I check my look in the mirror".

I grew a beard also because shaving was an ordeal, a trivial moment, the bailiwick of the clean-faced. But it doesn't have to be that way.