§Early Days
This month, July of 2017, will mark ten years of having a beard. That’s the last time I shaved my face, the last time my cheeks and chin saw direct sunlight, and the last time I had razor burn. I had grown out facial hair a few times in my late teens and twenties, but never for more than a few months before shaving it all off.
My oldest kid is the only one to remember me beardless - my middle was only six months old when I stopped shaving. After a couple of years my wife told me, “I was looking at our wedding pictures and you look weird without the beard, you have to keep it…” (thanks?)
§Then and Now
It’s weird, back when I first grew it out, there weren’t a lot of people with full beards. Yes, there were plenty of people with facial hair - mustaches, goatees, fu manchu, soul patch, etc. etc. - but not a lot of full-on beards. My wife noticed it too, it’s almost a movement with tons more people involved.
Now it’s not uncommon to have a longer beard in the office (at least in my office it’s the case). I like that.
