I just shaved for the first time in 20 years. The question is, why?

I initially grew a beard in the summer of 1990, in preparation for my first teaching job, at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I would soon be teaching seniors in high school and didn’t want anyone confusing me for a student. It was at that school where I met my future wife, Kim, then a Latin teacher. And because of a bit of laziness, or self-consciousness over my double chin, or both, my wife has never seen me clean shaven since. That’s 20 years of beardedness.

Even more profound, my kids have never seen me without facial hair. This afternoon should be interesting. I’m worried they might hide under their beds all night.

Why do such a thing?

On one level, to raise money and awareness for men’s cancers, via Movember. Movember is an international movement, begun in Australia, that’s all about the ‘stache. Men pledge to grow mustaches during the month of November (Mo is slang for ‘stache Down Under) and their friends and family pledge money in support of their efforts to support cancer research.

From the Movember web site:

Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st  clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month.  The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men.  Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days.

The idea for Movember was sparked in 2003 over a few beers in Melbourne, Australia.  The plan was simple – to bring the moustache back as a bit of a joke and do something for men’s health. No money was raised in 2003, but the guys behind the Mo realized the potential a moustache had in generating conversations about men’s health.  Inspired by the women around them and all they had done for breast cancer, the Mo Bros set themselves on a course to create a global men’s health movement.

The rules say start clean shaven, so I’m clean shaven.

Daddy Brad will be joining me on Team DadLabs, and we would really appreciate your support. So do a good thing for men’s cancers, and support our sprouting facial adornment, my making (even a small) donation today.