The stages of growing a beard

There are stages to growing a beard.  Some I expected, like the itchy stage, but others came as moments of discovery.  

It's been years since I let my lack-luster facial hair grow out far enough to see what DNA-based challenges I was working with.  I seldom go past three or four days on a vacation or perhaps a long weekend.  I don't think I've had even a goatee since my last peach fuzz cultivation in college.  Before that I may or may not have cheated in high school with a little Just For Men Gel.  (I wish that was made up, but it's not.)  All that to say, this beard thing is a new experience for me.

First stage for me was "I promise I didn't forget to shave."  My job doesn't have any regulations about facial hair that I know of, but we do make an effort to look professional, and scruffy isn't the sharpest look I can come up with.  Next came the "itchy" stage, right around day five or six.  I'm now probably a good month in and I'll let you know when the itching stops.  It's better, but I'm still very, very aware of the hair on my face.  While not unexpected, it was also a strange feeling the first time a leaned in for a quick kiss and my wife winced.  She's very supportive and powered through the "poky" stage, but it was an adjustment for both of us.

Then the unexpected stages started.  While eating lunch one day, I looked down to select my next french fry (I'm a super healthy eater) and noticed I could see my mustache as I was chewing.  I think I laughed out loud.  It's just such a foreign experience. 

My latest experience may not seem like much compared to Jake's snow beard, but I did have an ice-cold, wet mustache when we went snow tubing in downtown Oklahoma City.  I was toasty warm with gloves, ear warmers and too many layers, but my pitiful excuse for a mustache was a cold mess.  New experiences!

Thanks for reading and if you have the means and the motivation, thanks for helping our friends with the unfortunately high cost of adoption.

-Todd