DNA

It's all the rage...DNA.  The law enforcement world loves by it, the medical world depends on it and now everyday, run-of-the-mill folks can learn from it. For just a few dollars and a cheek swab, you can find new beginnings. 

Both of our kids are adopted...not a newsflash for those in the know!  The information that comes home with them is often sketchy and riddled with inconsistencies.  In our cases, both Jeff and Jess came with some limited information including ethnicity (for lack of a better word.) Jeff was delivered with a background of Polish and Irish while Jess came with an American Indian heritage.  We knew a few current facts as well that calmed our fears of being completely history ignorant.

For Christmas in 2017, I gave each of the kids DNA kits.  I thought it would fun as well as informative and at least give their kids a picture of possible roots across the pond. Jess did hers sooner than Jeff.  That fit with the researched facts that most adopted girls are interested in who they are.  Boys, a horse of a different color.  Generally, they are content with who they are and where they came from.  A few weeks ago, Jeff decided to throw his spit in the ring too.

Jessica's kit was returned with, surprise, very little Native American lineage... She was mostly European in the regions of the Netherlands and Switzerland. Wow... All these years when we bought her the native American barbies and American girls, dreamcatchers and moccasins, we were promoting her ethnicity somewhere completely off the chart.  We still wonder a bit as we were so inspired by genetics when she, as a child, named her two kittens, Rain Cloud and White Paw. :-)
So, now we know we should have focused more on wooden shoes and tulips.

Jeff's kit is still being analyzed but we are no longer dishing out Polish jokes and Kielbasa.  We'll welcome whatever heritage news we get and will embrace it. Jett will know where his roots are and someday he may choose to study his beginnings.....(we know they began in Charlotte ;-)

We all think it's more important to know where you're going than where you came from......unless you don't know!  We've learned the past few weeks that personal history is important.  It could change your life....forever. DNA is more than just Deoxyribonucleic acid ... It can open a door to "Defining New Ancestors" or if you choose to just let it be, Doing Nothing is Acceptable!!

We were given gifts on February 14th and June 4th.  We let them develop who they are...good, bad or indifferent, Now, through the genius of research, they can learn where their lineage took root... I believe knowledge is power and the more you know, the more you can be.  We'll see !