Role Models: What Do You Do to Inspire Your Kids?

I am a modern mother, but since I am of a generation where mothers did not have jobs, when I first had children I internally wrestled with whether working outside the home was best for the emotional growth of my daughters.

But I decided a long time ago that I wanted to show the girls that I could be an example of what they could be as adults – anything they want.

In this spirit I spent the last three weeks living in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands working with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists as a Teacher in the Field, helping to collect DNA samples from hatchling leatherback sea turtles.

It is the second time since I have had children that I’ve been gone for a significant amount of time – the first was as a NOAA Teacher at Sea when I worked on board a research vessel traveling from San Diego to the Galapagos Islands servicing the buoys along the equator that collect climate and ocean information when I was gone for almost a month.

Female leatherbacks can travel thousands of miles to return to the beach where they were hatched to bury their baby's eggs in the sand.

They are considered some of the most mobile sea turtles on the planet, and nesting areas can be found around the world.

According to the NOAA, they grow from one to two ounces to become the largest sea turtles and reptiles on the planet, up to 2,000 pounds.

Though they are big and a unique soft shell allows them to dive thousands of feet deep in the ocean, they are recognzied as an endangered species by the federal government.

I am hopeful that my daughters will see that moms can do anything, just like dads, and that when they are adults, they will follow their dreams as well.