So we finally had our DNA tested….here is my part of the story.

(This is not an advertisement for any particular website so I will skip who it was)

But, first; I had to get past my fear. My fear of being rounded up because they now know my DNA sequence and now they’re able to pinpoint me and put me on a train to a prison camp or some other equally horrible place. Of course, this was truly a concern because after all history has proven that first of all; these things actually did occur; and second; history does repeat itself. So I had a fear of not participating due to a dislike for being categorized by my DNA samples.

    Anyway, I went ahead and did it. Then one morning I got the results…. And there it was. I had gone to bed a German/Native American who was just a little bit of Irish and I woke up mostly Irish and Scottish and a little bit German/Native American.  Huge transformation right? Well my mother may have not known the truth but, hello? Mom you really got this one wrong! She would have been overwhelmed with joy to learn that her children were Scottish Highlanders. Apparently there might have been a little bit of German in there but not a whole lot and perhaps somebody was raised in a German neighborhood and ate German food…. but for the most part, I’m not a German. Well that’s kind of sad. I spent my whole life identifying myself incorrectly. Turns out I have grandparents that trace all the way back to Ireland for sure. I knew that. But they also trace all the way back to Scotland. So this sort of explains my love of bagpipes? I was kind of sad to tell my children that this occurred. Their first reaction was “oh my God! My entire life was a lie.” So I had to dig kind of deep to explain. No, it wasn’t a lie, I was here I know where I’m from, and I do like bagpipes so it’s not a total lie. Also, there is that one Irish grandfather we already knew about! But what about these trace parts from Greece? 10%? Well that is a pretty healthy chunk of one person. Never heard about that side of the family.
So after I revealed to the family my findings… I went on a mission to figure out how they were true! Now that was truly entertaining. I sent away for some birth certificates and found some family members. Basically, it is simply that my grandparents are really from Scotland. We thought they had all been from Germany. One great-grandmother however was German. This explains how my grandmother that I always thought was German was only half German and actually not from Germany but she cooked a lot of German food and spoke German. She got that from her mother’s side of the family. More research revealed more Irish than expected also. The cool part is that the Irish and the Scottish sides of the family were easily located and mapped. We can see their villages on Google Earth. Not everyone has it that easy. We realize that we are very fortunate in that respect.
Anyway,  just a word to the wise for those of you out there when you sign that little disclaimer that says, hey, you know your life could be completely turned upside down when you read the results… They are not kidding. That disclaimer is in place for a reason. You could be your own grandpa and not even know it.

    Ours has been a simple quest. I’ve had a wonderful time strolling down memory lane. Tracking down all the things I recently discovered and unraveling all of the things that my parents told me. I don’t know why they lied. Or did they? Maybe they were lied to as well. Maybe they just didn`t know. Maybe they hated their parents. Maybe they hated their cousins. Maybe they were ashamed to admit that they were immigrants. There could be a whole multitude of reasons why they would make up wonderful happy stories instead of telling me what really happened and who they really were. Rumor has it they could have actually been war orphans that were hiding from the war? Maybe they eloped from their family so they could be together? Any sort of horrible or romantic and wonderful things could have happened that produced the bloodline that I now show on a piece of paper. The reality is that it is what it is. So you folks have fun and when you find out who you really are….make sure you tell the truth to your children.
I want to go to Scotland and Ireland. I want to walk the places my ancestors walked. I also want people to understand why I am there and not be too judgemental. I want to be proud of my ancestors. Need I say more?