Adjusting to the Reservation

June 2000 to July 2011 was spent living in the scorching weather of Phoenix, arizona. after 11 years, I had enough of the city. It was time to go home. I turned in my two week notice and started packing and hauling stuff to the storage.

in the beginning, I was anxious about living where we had no running water and electricity. How was I going to stay clean? How do I adjust to living without the amenities? my kids got bored to the lack of video games and internet surfing. however, we all adjusted. there was always work to be done. feed the animals, take out the sheep, haul water, haul hay, go wood hauling, fix this, fix that…. the never ending list of chores.

Somehow we adjusted. the beauty of silence greeted us each day. at nights, we built a fire to roast MARSHMALLOWS and watch the stars light the night sky. we named new puppies, new kittens, new chickens and learned the names of the horses. best of all was the endless hiking we did. kids discovering where the hidden ponds were!

we no longer minded showering twice a week. the summer heat was more bearable. we found a cool haven inside the hogan. we enjoyed hauling water and getting cold ice cream and sodas. it was always a treat to drive to our local store.

best of all, they learned about kinship. they recognized who their relatives were. they made friends with the workers at the store. they learned and spoke the navajo language. they were happy to be “home”