As I sat on my couch, wondering what wonderful words of
wisdom I could share with you this Thanksgiving week (ha!), an ad for
AcestryDNA.com came on the TV. You know – where you send them a sample of your
DNA, they analyze it and send you back
your “real” heritage.
What a fun topic for Thanksgiving, I thought – the American
holiday where we commemorate the English settlers’ survival in The New World
back in 1600-something. Since then, our nation has become a true melting pot of
many nationalities and backgrounds, which I think is one of its greatest
strength.
In the commercial, the woman said she’s always thought she
was 100 percent Hispanic, only to discover that she’s “everything.” And that’s the point of the commercial – that you
never really know exactly what your make-up is, unless you undergo DNA testing,
of course.
Let’s take my son, as an example. He sent his spit off in a
plastic vial a few years back, and he did get a few interesting results.
But first, some background:
My husband loves studying genealogy and has traced his
ancestors’ roots to Germany (50 percent), Ireland (25 percent) and Wales (25
percent). As an odd side note, he
considers himself more Welsh than Irish, despite the identical percentages. And
he’s an accountant. Go figure.
I, on the other hand, am a mutt. Or at least I think I am.
My mother was adopted, although back then the records weren’t sealed. Her adoptive
parents told her she was from the Prussian part of Germany – which I found
quite romantic. I’m not German. I’m PRUSSIAN. The knowledge spawned many fantasies of discovering myself
to be long-lost royalty from some tiny Germanic principality. My father’s side
isn’t much better. He left when I was about four, so we know little about his
background, but Mom always said he was all German. Years later, we found out his mother’s side
was from Eastern Europe – either Poland or Lithuania...something like that. So
I’m German, Prussian and some sort of Eastern European. I’ve always guestimated myself as 75 percent German and 25 percent
Eastern European.
So if I do the math, my children would be:
12.5 percent Irish
12.5 percent Welsh
62.5 percent(ish) German
12.5 percent Eastern European
12.5 percent Welsh
62.5 percent(ish) German
12.5 percent Eastern European
If there are mathematicians/statisticians out there, please
don’t grade me on this. It’s been decades since I cracked a book on genetics,
and I’m sure my methodology has a few holes in it. :-)
Anyway, take a look at the report my son got back
His heritage is 99 percent
European. Makes sense. But if we drill down, we see that some of the percentages
are a little off. More from Ireland than Great Britain? Interesting. One of
those Welsh ancestors must have come from Ireland!
Thirty-two percent from Western Europe, 22 percent from Eastern –
those I can buy. But 11 percent from the Iberian Peninsula?
According to AcestrDNA.com, “People in this DNA ethnicity
group may identify as: Spanish, Portuguese, Hispanic.”
Now there’s a mystery!
This result prompted hubby to order his own spit kit from
the company. Alas, even after two attempts, the samples he sent weren’t enough
to generate results – very disappointing.
My sister, when she saw the report, implored me to send my
own sample off for testing, figuring the “Iberians” must be from our side, and
she didn’t feel like spitting in a cup. I promptly declined. I don’t want my DNA floating around out there,
stored in some lab! Some crook could get
hold of it and do who-knows-what with it!
Although maybe I should, just in case some obscure Germanic
principality is seeking descendants of its royal line....
Nah. In truth, I’m happy to be a mutt. I’m happy to be American.
So as I celebrate Thanksgiving with my husband
and two grown sons, I’ll thank the fates that landed me in this country of
freedoms, in a family that hasn’t been rich in money but has been so rich in
love. I’ll give a prayer of thanks for our collective health, for our jobs, for
the joy of story-telling and for those who love reading.
Wishing you and yours a joyous and safe Thanksgiving.
