DNA: My Heritage

  I had a friend to lovingly say that she did not want me to suffer through a long and tedious search. She was hoping that the identities of my bio parents would be revealed quickly and with ease. Her sweet wishes were a warm covering in the harsh cold of my governmental dealings. On April 6, 2016, I received the most uplifting news. I was in a bit of a pit as one of my searches had led to a dead end. Literally. I was excited for my search to be on an upswing. I'd gone to a PTA meeting the night that I discovered that Jacqueline Ellis was deceased. I could barely breathe. I felt so heavy. I darn sure wasn't "present" at that PTA meeting. I headed home to collapse on the couch beside my sweet husband. He began to provide words of comfort and encouragement. I was beginning to relax into a peaceful state when I decided that I would check my emails. BAM! I was no longer peaceful but exuberant with excitement... my DNA results were in! I was somewhat methodical in how I wanted to receive the information. I wanted to look at my ethnicity first, and then I wanted to look at my "Relative Matches".

I squeezed my eyes shut and slowly opened them to my screen. I am largely Nigerian. I felt an amazing sense of pride and fulfillment. My roots were appearing, and they were strong. I also got a couple of surprises. I have Irish heritage. That's so wild to me. I never would have guessed that. But, there was an even greater surprise. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to take a trip to Italy. That place lives in my soul. I can't explain it. I can smell the air. I can hear the busy and boisterous voices of the people. The landscape has always filled every inch of my being. The food, oh the food. I savored a land far away. My soul was invested in Italy, and I didn't know why...until now. I have a small bit of Italian heritage that lives so largely in my heart. I burst forth in laughter. I now understood my longing. This was just the beginning ...
 Next, I took a deep breath as I clicked on my "Relative Matches". This was huge. How close of a match would I have? Could one of my biological parents have tested? Would I discover a sibling, an aunt, or an uncle? Was there a relative who was looking for me? If a close relative had not tested, then I was in for a trip around the mulberry bush. I was hopeful. My heart was racing. I clicked on it to find that my closest match was a...