I have the best job in the world and it is always the hardest job, and that is being a mother. I really think it is the best job because you have someone who loves you back unconditionally and wants to learn and do everything you know and do. Of course, this is my personal perspective because I know that not everyone feels the same way or has the same experience. Motherhood is very hard and it has taught me immense patience and discipline. I did not realize I was so selfish. I thought I was not that selfish but when my daughter was born, I quickly learned that I had to put my personal wants aside and focus only on the needs when it was absolutely necessary such as personal hygiene and food nourishment. The days of sleeping in and going to an impromptu movie were gone. Gradually, I learned that having my daughter on a routine helped me rest and get some necessary things done. Now as she grows older I find that I can do a lot of stuff with her so she feels like she is helping instead me making her feel like she is in the way.

I do admit that it is nice to get time away from my daughter so she can be with her playmates, and her father and I can work and get necessary chores and errands completed. I currently have a wonderful job where I work with some amazing educators, students, scientists, and activists.

If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

If I could have any job in the world, I would love to live on the Navajo reservation in my hometown, and I would love to work as a combination of farmer, sheepherder, and run my non-profit, Fifth World Discoveries teaching and sharing traditional and cultural knowledge with youth and adults from all over the nation. I want and need to be near my home on the Navajo Nation. When I was born part of my umbilical cord was still attached, and so when it finally broke off, my parents buried it in the ground so as to keep me connected to the earth and my homeland. So that is where I am connected; physically and spiritually. I really do not have the desire to live elsewhere in the world because home is home, and I want to stay there.

But if I had to dream…perhaps working with Native Hawaiians in Hawaii or aboriginals in New Zealand and Australia on traditional preservation projects.