I have been meaning to write this for a while, and when I say a while we are talking about a year (like it’s a royal we!). so here we go no time like the present.
Finding out about my heritage until recently has never been on my radar which is surprising considering I’m such a huge history nerd plus having muscular dystrophy a Progressive muscle weakening condition you would think that finding out about my DNA Heritage could be something I would think about.
Finding out your ancestry has recently been taken to another level, in the old days you would have to trawl through endless amounts of public records to try and find out what your Great (x6) Aunt Fanny’s maiden name was. Now there is the internet and also at home DNA tests available.
I had been dropping very large hints that big i sending the link to the kit to hubby! – so you can imagine my excitement when I opened my MyHeritageDNA test kit – the results weren’t what I was expecting.
Of course I had a clear vision in my mind what I was going to expect as I knew some of my background, my family are English and Scottish, so I didn’t anticipate that I would be anything but British and Scottish from my sperm Donors side (sorry father) with a little Italian thrown in. I was fully aware I was probably going to be a little disappointed by my results as they wouldn’t show any new revelations but nonetheless, I was still hopeful and excited to try it and where I came from.
How does it arrive
Luckily I was gifted by hubby but you can buy one online and get it posted to your home. The MyHeritage kits retail at £75 but shop around as you will frequently find a special offers. This is an all-inclusive price that includes all the processing at the lab when you send your test back. You do have to pay the postage to return the swabs to the USA, but that was the price of one international stamp around £1.40, so it won’t break the bank.
What do you do?
The test is packaged well – provided In the box are two cotton swabs, 2 small plastic vials with liquid in and a small jiffy bag with the address printed on it. One swab you use in each cheek twisting it around on the inside of your mouth for 30 seconds, once you’ve finished put one swab in each vial provided and secure them in the bag. The next step is to then activate the kit on the MyHeritage website with the relevant code that you will find inside the box and post the sample off at the Post Office.
Waiting for your results
Now, this is where patience is a virtue. I did have to wait a around 12 weeks. It does seem like you wait forever before hearing anything but I just put that down to needing to know as soon as I’d done the first swab, but I have been known to get a little over excited about things; MyHeritage send you a confirmation email when it has been received in the lab, from there you can track the progress of your sample. The whole process does seem a little drawn-out but I am definitely no lab technician with absolutely no idea about the work involved, so I won’t count this as a negative I genuinely just wanted to find out my results.
My results
Results are in that long awaited email saying my DNA test was ready, they make it feel like a special event by playing a little video with your results which I loved, you definitely get the “wow” factor, rather than just reading through a plain boring PDF.
Are you ready here is what I am:
Crazy right? Scandinavian wasn’t a huge shock as my mum has mentioned that will probably come up but the Iberian wow and my Scottish roots are very clear to see. A family member on my Sperm donors side (sorry father’s side) has been I contact and turns out my nan is her great aunt I am even more excited to see what else I find.
Verdict
I am really impressed it totally over exceeded my expectations, i can see that a DNA test may be simply a matter of curiosity like myself, and it doesn’t give me more understanding of if anyone else on my mother’s side had/has muscular dystrophy but a DNA test may solve some mysteries or at least add support to well-developed theories. On the other hand, a DNA test taken for curiosity may provide strong motivation to pursue some serious genealogical research.
I am definitely glad I did it so if you’re looking for a present with a difference definitely get your hands on one when it’s on offer. After all, you have nothing to lose, but a heritage to gain!
Kisses K
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Kerry Thompson - My Life, Kerry's Way. 
This is really interesting Kerry. I didn’t know about these tests by this company. My dad was really into family trees at one time but did not do anything more than a family tree. That was interesting enough but I love the details of this kit’s result. I know I’m English and Irish with some possible Swiss but have always been curious to find out more. Hoping 2021 is good to you.
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Hmmm this is interesting. Might be that your Scottish ancestors were once viking? Vikings travelled all over Europe, including Spain and often came from Scandinavia. Really interesting to thanks for sharing
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Oh wow thank you for sharing that information
Kisses k
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