I don't have words to describe what's going on here.

(Photo Credit: David Johnson, my eldest brother. Used without permission, 'cause I'm a rotten sibling.)

I'm fairly comfortable calling the "beard" that appears in this photo the final product of HoNoToGroABeMo. This shot was taken curing the not-quite-Thanksgiving gathering at the International House of Johnson, when my mother, father, sister, brother, nephews, niece and various in-laws descended upon our abode to feast on turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy (ham and turkey), unsuffering succotash, sweet potato casserole, cranberries, BLT dip, veggies, pickles and pie...oh, the pie.

I was somewhat preoccupied with family and food, so I completely failed to capture the requisite self-portrait and post the requisite HoNoToGroABeMo blog entry. Fortunately, my brother posted several photos on the Facebook today, and at least one of them prominently features my beard.

So here it is. Thirty days of growth, minus some trimming I did to maintain minimal decency. I think I'll let it grow through the month of December to see whether or not some (or all) of the rather unimpressive patches fill in with thick, manly whiskers. Maybe I'll even post the result of thirty more days here after Christmas.

Maybe Santa will bring me a real beard.

Or maybe not. In any case, I want to thank everyone who participated in HoNoToGroABeMo this year: Bob, Chris, David, Gus, Jeff, Nev and Wesley. Your beards (or reasonable facsimiles thereof) may not have provided much warmth as the bitter chill of near-winter descended, but they provided a great deal of amusement throughout the month. I hope you'll all return next year, when I swear on a stack of Remington MicroScreens that I will do a series of Celebrity Beard Profiles (you know, the ones that I didn't do this year); at least one a week.

Thanks also to Laura for providing the wife's perspective, and to Jenny for her comments throughout the month. And thank you to all the wives and girlfriends who put up with thirty days of stubble and silliness with nothing to show for it on December 1st but a bathroom sink full of razor leavings.

Finally, thanks once more to Bob, for picking up the HoNoToGroABeMo ball and running with it. This website would not exist without Bob's initiative and his mad web development skillz. Kudos to you and your beard, sir.

P.S. There will be at least one more post from me in the next couple of days. My father and younger brother both participated in HoNoToGroABeMo, and I'd like to present a few of the photographs they shared with me.