Deciding to do this job and be a mother requires becoming not only familiar with failure, but comfortable with it. Comfortable enough to say that today, I didn't get to grade every paper, but I did get my son to poop in the potty instead of in the tub. Or that today, I didn't get him to eat anything healthy, but in rehearsal I did get a chance to work more deeply, and now the scene between Konstantine and his mother, Irina, feels much stronger and more honest. At the end of the day I realize that my experience with my son has helped me to better understand the play I am directing, and that somehow all this is interconnected in a very tangible and positive way.I wonder if I can talk her into coming out to the Kriti Festival. She's an assistant professor at Bucknell now. Hmm....-- Anjalee Deshpande Nadkarni, "Two Boards and a Passion," Mama Ph.D.