What a week! Joe’s spec script went out…

…this week so it is a very exciting time for both of us.  I’ve been sitting at work each day this week staring at my cell phone, ready to receive the call of good news. As the week progresses it becomes more intense and exciting.  It’s almost unbearable for me; I can only imagine what it must be like for him.  I guess I don’t have to imagine since I live with him, but I’ll probably never know the true personal angst of having one’s creation out for sale to the highest bidder.

We have fun imagining what it might sell for, and what we will do with the money.  It’s like winning the lottery, only with much better chances of winning!  And I can’t help but tell family and friends that so of course that ups the stakes a little.

This week has also made me think about my role as his spouse, and I realized it’s a varied one!  The way I see it, I am a:

Therapist:  Several times a month I am afraid Joe will go postal.  Probably because he says he is going to go postal.  I have to remember not to put too much pressure on him – writers beat themselves up over things that are out of their control, so there is no point in piling on.  And as we all know, writers get “blocked” and occasionally get into “funks.” It’s my job as his spouse to get him out of them.

Script Reader:  I am usually among the first and final eyes for his scripts.  Also under this category fall:  Proofreader, Spellchecker, and Fact-Checker  (“um…babe?  Most people can’t really type 200 words per minute…you might want to make that a tad more delievable.”) And from time to time I have to put my acting chops to task and read his
work out loud.  It’s helpful for Joe to hear his pitch or scripts read out loud.  The more I get into the characters the  better.

Creative Consultant:  I’m not sure this is the right term, but requests like, “Hey - can you think of some really gruesome ways to be killed for me?” are not uncommon.  Most of the time these requests are fun…but I always realize how hard this is when every idea I think of are things that have already been done.  Which is why I can think of it.

Accountant:   We incorporated a while ago, and I am officially the Secretary…the bill payer and account wrangler.   Joe’s creative – he has absolutely no interest in balancing checkbooks.  And I love it, so huzzah!

Masseuse:  De-stressing is a big part of my job.  Neck rubs, back rubs, it’s all necessary to keep the calm.

Cook:  This includes reheating dinner because of daily status calls with his agent or managers which inevitably occur as I am putting dinner on the table.

Personal Assistant:  I scan things, make appointments, do last minute faxes, etc.  I guess spouses would do these things anyway, but I find myself doing anything and everything I can to further his career.

Joe and I have a good balance; I think he would also say we are perfectly suited to our roles.  I’ll keep you posted on the script sale…I’ve got to go and keep planning on how we will spend all that money… : )