the great shave debate

Robert and I have been together 14 years.  For the vast majority of those years, Robert has had a goatee.  He was clean-shaven when we started dating but within 6 months he had grown out the goatee and it became a permanent fixture on his face.

Every 5 years or so, Robert goes through the “should I shave my goatee or not” debate.  The last time he shaved was just over 6 years ago.  We were vacationing in the Caribbean and he appeared at breakfast with no goatee.  It freaked me out.  I kept staring at him.  He didn’t look like my husband.  He looked weird.  Of course, after a couple of days, I became used to it and I no longer felt the need to stare.

Robert’s clean-shaven look never lasts very long.  He gets flustered with having to shave every single day and eventually he lets it go over the weekend…and a few more days after that…and then trims it into his regular goatee.

I like the goatee.  It balances his face and makes him look distinguished.  It makes him look like the Robert I love.  I’m not saying that I love him less without the goatee…I just don’t see a need to mess with something that works.  I wish I had the same problem with my hair….

Robert has been mumbling about shaving his goatee again for the last couple of weeks.  He even posted a couple of photos on Flickr asking fellow photographers to share their opinions.  What will be the outcome of the “shave/don’t shave” debate this time?  I have no idea…