The Great and Dreadful Day

As some of you may already know, The Man got a call from the Stake President a few weeks ago to serve as the new Elders Quorum President of our ward. He had been called a week and a half prior to serve as the 1st Counselor in Elders Quorum, so we weren't quite expecting a change like this so soon. It's not really official in our ward yet; he has not been sustained or set apart, but for some reason it seems to be common knowledge among the members of our ward, so I guess it's okay for me to say it. It was a bittersweet calling for him. He is excited for the challenge, but he was sad to leave his teaching calling in the Gospel Doctrine class. I know, he's crazy. Who in the world LIKES teaching Gospel Doctrine???

Our meeting with the Stake President was, to say the least, interesting.
I met with him first, and after he asked a few "preliminary" questions (do we have current temple recommends; do we love each other; is there any abuse in the home), he asked me to tell him a little about The Man. I had a million things to say; how I was so lucky to be married to him, and how he's the romantic one in our relationship. I told him about his great sense of humor and how he's usually the center of attention in a group. I told him what a great father he is, and how much more I've grown to love him just by watching him with our children. President M said I was putting him to shame by talking about my husband.

And then he asked me a question I've always known would one day be asked. "Sister, how do you feel about his facial hair?" I couldn't help but smile. Now, before you all jump to conclusions about how I'd been waiting and waiting for this day to come, let me assure you, I think my Man looks fabulous with facial hair. I've always really liked it, aside from the occassional scratching of the mustache. But I said I'd be happy to see it go, since I've only once in my life seen him without it. And that was BEFORE we were even dating. I also said that The Man would have a much harder time with this. I knew he wouldn't be happy about it, but we had talked about it before, and he always told me, "I'll never shave unless the brethren tell me to," so I knew he would do it.

Then they brought The Man in. We all talked for a few minutes, and then President M told him what calling they were asking him to take on. He, of course, was more than willing to accept it. And then came the dreaded question. A smile came to his face, but it was not a smile like mine. The Man also knew this day would come, and had prepared himself for it. President M said he wasn't requiring The Man to shave, but he was suggesting it. The Man looked at our Stake President and said, "Consider it gone."

We talked for a little while longer, and then we left to go home. We talked for a while on the way, and he said something to me that really impressed me. He said, "My dad always taught us that a suggestion from the brethren is not really just a suggestion." I gained some extra respect for my father-in-law that night, and I was especially proud of my husband. I knew this would be a hard thing for him. He said he felt dumb, that it was just some silly facial hair, but he really struggled with it. He had always told himself that the day he was aksed to shave it would be the day that it would be gone. But on the way home he said he was coming up with a million justifications to wait a few more days.

Now, I can just hear a lot of you saying, "Holy smokes, people, it's just SHAVING. What's the big deal? Who cares if you have a goatee or not?" But this was more than a goatee to him. This was a part of his character and personality. It made him feel unique and creative. It was just so ... him. But being obedient to a representative of the Lord was more him than that facial hair, and so when we got home and went upstairs to get ready for bed, he looked at me and said, "If you want to remember this, go and get the camera."

Funny thing is, for no reason at all, he had been growing a FULL beard for the last almost two months. Maybe somewhere inside of him, he knew this was his last chance. So here's my cute, albeit hairy, husband.

And this is him thinking about what he's about to do.

And then it really hit him that this was it.
And no (since I know you're all going to ask), he's not REALLY crying. I swear, you're idiots.

So he finally got started. Just the beard first.

And this is what he "normally" looks like.

But then the mustache had to go.


Yeah! No more scratching! Before this picture he said to me, "I don't think I'll be able to smile in any more of these."

And he kept on going...


And then it was gone. In less than ten minutes, something he had for almost ten years was gone. He was sad. I was proud.

So I know you're all dying to see what he looks like, and you know how I hate to disappoint, but you're just going to have to come down here and see for yourself. But if I do say so myself, The Man is smokin'!!! And he's never looked better to me.