Flashback

10 years ago.

At this point in my career - I have transitioned to the main bread winner.

I got married straight out of college and 2 weeks before I started grad school for film.

It was really important for me in those days to sit around the house and watch a lot of movies - to prepare for the welfare days to come - and so I had my new wife working two jobs.

Didn't last long. As she is prone to do - she saw through my disguise - and I started working.

Started to do well - and my short film from school started opening some doors. I came home from a shoot one night - when my wife was 4 months pregnant - and she tells me she quit her job.

Fast forward.

I'm back to directing for Discovery again.

I take a job directing for a show called the Quest. Last show we shot on film. I'm sent off to Montserrat - the island with a big ash volcano. I'm there after they have already evacuated half of the island - but before they evacuated the rest.

We shoot for a week - straight through a major hurricane - and I even tempt fate by getting a bit too close to the top of the volcano - and head home for a quick edit.

The turnaround on this is fast. After processing - we have 4 days to get the show out the door.

Tadd - the wonder writer - was working here as an editor at the time. I got him a job - and he was awesome. We jumped in and started cutting. We edited straight for 27 hours - no breaks - when I got a call.

Babe? I think my water broke.

What? It's Halloween. The baby isn't due for another 27 days. Just go back to sleep.

Back to cutting. Screen the show for the big boss.

The Boss and I have a history. I was one of his very first producers - and I'm also a smart ass. He is overbearing - so there are times we don't see eye to eye.

At one point in the show - he has me change a sequence. I don't understand his reasoning - other than I think it's bad.

We come to another point - and he has me change something else - so that it becomes more like the first thing - before he changed it.

At this point we have a big argument that culminated with him saying -

Greg, when you grow up and have a company of your own - you can do whatever you want - but for now - this is my company and we are going to do it my way.

At which point I said -

As long as you know we are doing it your way because its what you said - and not because its the right decision - that's fine by me.

At which point - both Mike - the producer - and Tadd - the editor - put their heads down and prayed we didn't have a human volcano go off in the room.

Luckily - I was saved by another call.

Baby. You need to come home.

I'm in the middle of this edit - I just have to-

You NEED to come home NOW.

So off I went.

Now - this was really early. And everything I had every heard about first pregnancies is that the baby is usually late - not early. So I assumed that this was false labor.

I went home. Took a shower. Slowly. Stalling till 9 am when my wife's GYN opened.

By the time we got there - she was refusing to speak to me. Once she was up on the table - she was already 6cm's dilated.

The baby came quick - 3 hours later. Too quickly to even get an epidural in.

And that how - ten years ago - my daughter Jade came into the world.

She is a piece of work. At three she told my wife -

I'll start doing what you say when you stop telling me what to do.

And she hasn't been easy ever since. But she sure is cool.

And I love her.

Happy birthday Jade.

I promise you if daddy makes some more money - we'll have that extra arm taken care of.