Behind the Camera

That's the title of The Spouse's blog, which I don't link to because he doesn't post on it very often (but I probably should just because, you know, he's my spouse). He spent many years of his young life working in the TV/movie biz, as an electrician. He loved the work, although it was always feast or famine. He made a lot of money when he worked but it had to last until the next gig, which is why he also spent all those years cooking in restaurants.

The movie scene in Seattle looked, back there in the early '90's, like it was going to be the Next Big Thing. But Washington state didn't manage the opportunity very well, which is why, to this day, most movies that are set in Seattle are actually shot in Vancouver, B.C. This posed an issue for The Spouse. He could, like a lot of his film buddies, take the plunge and move to L.A., where there was plenty of work or he could stay here and eke out a living.

When we got married I had a good job. We could have played "Starving Artist and the Breadwinner" quite happily. Or he could have lived in LA 6 months out of the year (because I had NO interest in living in LA, not even with the man I loved. Which is probably the difference between someone who gets married in her 20's vs someone in her mid 30s but there it is). He, however, was the one who made all the "house and kid" noises. And the one thing I wasn't going to do was raise a kid in LA and/or by myself part-time.

There were no ultimatums or acrimony. He just had a decision to make and obviously, he chose to leave the biz. He became a computer programmer and provides us with a very nice life. We have a sweet little house, cars that run & a beautiful child. He made it possible for me to stay home with our baby and now to stay home and try to make my way in the world as a writer (and we all know how much that pays). Our child is in private school. We have a good life but sometimes I've wondered if he ever had regrets.

The Spouse is very creative. He makes little movies all the time, editing together fun bits on his PC. He's helped a co-worker, who is an aspiring film-maker, make a film. He's got a script of his own that he would like to shoot, just for grins. And yet...

He found a call for volunteers to crew a film being shot here in town and hopped on board. He took some vacation time and he's been lighting this little movie called "Fortune Hunters" since Saturday. The last day of shooting is Sunday. He is having the time of his life. The Child and I visited the set yesterday and everyone we met (including the director...who couldn't have been a nicer guy) kept thanking us for "sharing" him. I suppose we are. We haven't seen much of him since Saturday evening. Shoots are wrapping late at night so The Child and I are eating without him and going to bed 'way before he gets home. But he is so happy that we don't mind.

Here's the thing: we did have the evening together on Saturday and he was raving about his first day and how many people he's working with who know the people he knows. He was telling me about one guy, who is a neighbor, who has a family and spends 6 months of the year in LA. He told me how patient and appreciative everyone was, how fun it was to be doing such physical work again. Then he looked at me and said, "I had to make a big decision 15 years ago and you know what? I don't regret it for a minute". He has a job (which technically makes him the only person on the film who's getting paid) and isn't stressing about doing such a great job that he'll get hired again. This time it's just for fun and for the love of doing it. Which couldn't be sweeter.

Now that he's gotten his feet wet, I wouldn't be surprised if he does a few more things like this. Maybe he could even get a little day player work so he can finance his own film. I'm just thrilled that he has made a hobby of something he is good at and loves so much. I think that's what you call a win/win.