to beard or not to beard, that is the question

Tracy likes me better with a beard. Honestly, she likes me in all mountain-manned up with flannel, boots, and a big bushy beard. I don't mind the beard in colder months. In fact, I often prefer it. But from May - October, it's warm in Maine and a beard is the last thing I want. As such, I shaved my winter beard off about a month ago.

But now the wedding is fast approaching (10 days away!) and Tracy wants me to have a beard. I tried growing one back, but got frustrated with it after about 5 days of growth, and shaved it off this past Sunday. Now, if I don't shave again, I'll have a decent beard by the wedding day, but it's not really the right season for bearding. Plus, there's a lot of skin irritation when it's growing in, and there's a potential for breakouts, which is the last thing I need before the big day.

We've settled on a compromise: I'm going to be stubbly. Just how stubbly is the right amount of stubble has yet to be determined, but I've been doing tests. We figure it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-4 days. Four days might be too much, but three may not be enough, so we may have to get as specific as shaving in the evening three days before the wedding so we can see how the growth looks for a 1PM wedding.

Tonight I shave again. I should have two more opportunities to grow the beard back out to an appropriate stubbly length for the wedding. You know, for science. Then I just have to figure out if I shave the neck, or let the stubble go uninterrupted.

See, wedding planning is hard.