Beyond No Shave November--Full Hillbilly?

The No-Shave Beard about a week prior to December 1.

Now that the calendar has turned to December, and "No Shave November" is in the rear view mirror, the time once again comes to make the decision as to whether to shave this past month's growth or to just let it go. Those of my students (well, the few who have enough facial hair to truly warrant shaving) who have participated this past month showed up to school this morning with their scruff shorn and countenances suitably baby faced. Though the initial "shock" of shaving today would have been neat, I know that it wouldn't be long before I'd regret it and "return headlong" (apologies to Cocteau) to a state of beardedness.

The more I think about it, No Shave November may have been just a timely excuse to not bother shaving. When asked whether or not I would be shaving I had one or two responses in hand, "I'm goin' full hillbilly and not shaving for the rest of the year!" or "I don't let the Man dictate my appearance!" Truth is, I do afford my wife that authority, but now that it has grown in, and therefore is less prickly, she has been less verbal about her displeasure with the wild state of my hairy chin.

The added benefit is that as I have found myself stirring at 3:30 a.m. to go for a run, the beard does offer me some cover from the dropping temperatures--and in the not-too-distant future, the snow and rain... so for now (well, for this evening anyway) it stays firmly planted on my pie-hole.