My Search for the One Thing Every Mom is Told She Can't Have

And why it feels so damn right (most of the time).

“What do you do for work?” A standard-issue question meant to break the ice, especially if you live in New York, like I do, where your profession is basically your identity. I remember someone asking me that after I left my job, not knowing how to reply: “Do I revert to the past tense and say that I was formerly the editor-in-chief of Parents, a nationa…