When you're married to wilderness man.

So one day, many moons ago (I think it was last October or November), Dill randomly applied to be an extra in a New Testament film project our church would soon be working on. They needed Jewish/Arabic/Roman-looking people for these roles. Dill very obviously fit the bill (I think the nose is the most convincing part) so he easily made it through all the rounds of casting. At one point, they asked that he start growing his beard and hair "in earnest" so that endeavor began at the end of May, pretty much the moment we got home from D.C.

About three months has passed since that day. Now, I wake up and my husband looks like this:

You like my paint skillz? I know.

I used to think a humongous beardstache-thing on my husband's face would scare the living daylight outta me but so far, I've managed not to flinch and shriek when I see it. The babies at church sometimes do, though.

And since I'm sure you're dying to know: yeah, it's not so fun to kiss him anymore. Someone should do a study about how facial hair affects marriages. I bet it would be enlightening. And Gillette's stock would probably skyrocket immediately upon its publication.

Anyway ... this beard has been through quite a few phases. First, it was a sexy 5 o'clock shadow of scruff. Then, it evolved into the rugged, "I just camped for five days because I'm super outdoorsy" look. It quickly (and surprisingly) became a real beard within about a month. Back then, he got a lot of compliments like, "Wow, you wear a beard SO WELL!" And then, he started looking like a Biblical prophet and the compliments turned into strange stares and uncomfortable questions. It's been at this Moses state for a few weeks now and let me just say, I'll be glad the day it's gone. And I think Dill will, too. He's constantly worried he has food in that nest of hair around his mouth and he's a bit tired of having to explain that he has a monstrous Hagrid beard because he's going to be a movie star. You think that would be an awesome excuse but the truth is, Dill has, um, no acting experience so it kind of sounds like a joke. Here's how the scenario usually plays out:

Random person from church/high school/work: "Dude, what's with the beard?"

Dill: "I'm going to be an extra in a movie about Jesus."

Random person: "Hahahaha ... Seriously ... ?"

I find the whole concept of Dill acting in a real production quite amusing. I love telling people my husband's going to be in a movie, even though it's really just a collection of short clips that will be used mostly for educational purposes. But that doesn't stop me from bragging all day about it! I sometimes blurt out the news without warning in conversation: "Did you all know that DILL'S gonna be in a MOVIE?!?" That one really gets the ball rolling. I can't help it; I'm so PROUD! He's living the dream, right?!

So this is FINALLY happening. Tomorrow, Dill is carting his hairy face up to Utah to shoot the movie for a few days. The kids and I are parking our non-hairy faces here because Bubby has pre-school and I have choir rehearsal (oh yeah, did you hear? EVMCO is letting me sing with them!). We're going to get a taste of Daddy-less parenthood and I have a feeling I'm going to have my butt handed to me at the end. Yay! Stay tuned!

(Click here for info about the New Testament project.)