The Recline! Response (Part 1)

Anne-Marie Slaughter, Julianne Smith, and Mieke Eoyang take on Rosa Brooks' Manifesto for the new working woman.

Julianne Smith:

Last summer, after four-plus years with the administration, including one year as the deputy national security advisor to the vice president, I quit my job, let our nanny go and became a stay-at-home mom.

I didn't simply recline. I went horizontal.

What was it like to transition from DNSA to SAHM? Let's just say expectations didn't always line up with reality. While I was still at the White House -- particularly on days that ended well past my son's bedtime -- I'd imagine the glory of my upcoming move. Sometimes, as I sat in the Situation Room, my mind flipped through a montage of summer snapshots: teaching my son to swim, going for walks in the woods, and enjoying picnics in the park all without a BlackBerry or secure phone.