21st of November, A Day to Remember

The 21st of November, will definitely be a day we will remember forever in our household. It is the day that myself, Mam and Pops received my Family Tree DNA kit. We had been tracking it from the day it dispatched and following it on its journey to Ireland.

On this cold and wet Wednesday morning we got an update to tell us that the package had arrived in Balbriggan, Dublin. So we were all positive that it would arrive that day. It was 1:30pm when my Pops walked into the room with the delivery. Even though I knew it was so close I was still in shock that it had arrived. It was finally here, the wait was over. He left it on my bed and went on about his business. I just stared at the package at first. Then I eventually picked it up, felt it, looked at the front of it, and took deep breath then ripped it open.

Welcome Letter

I went on to empty the contents of the package, which contained 2 swabs, 2 vials, the return package and instructions,consent form and welcome letter. I began by reading the welcome letter which explained that genetic genealogy is a use of DNA testing to establish relationships between individuals and to determine ancestral origins. It also explains how the DNA products and tools are designed to help you find your genetic matches and trace your lineage through time. It then went on to give a bit of background of how they company began. Family Tree DNA was founded in April 2000, it was the very first company that was able to do DNA testing for genealogical purposes that would deliver directly to the consumer. Before this company it was only available to scientific and academic communities.

I then started to have a glance through the instruction’s. The instructions were pretty straight forward, nothing confusing or difficult about the process whatsoever. I could have done the test on my own if I wanted to, and a part of me wanted to. But when going to do it, I stopped. I decided that I wanted to wait for both Mam and Pops to get home and do it as a family instead. For once in a long time I needed my Mam and Dad to just be there for me while I, we, took this big step. Just having them present put my nerves at ease, it took a huge weight of my shoulders. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I will be forever thankful for being so fortunate to have such a supportive family and to have my Mam and Dad there with me every step of the journey. I have so much love for them.

FTDNA Test

I had to wait an hour after any food or drink before doing the test, which was a struggle for me cause I kept nibbling away on Buttons(chocolates). I eventually managed not to eat or drink for an hour, we all sat down together in the sitting room at approximately 9.30pm to do the test.

I put all the contents out on the coffee table and read over the instructions again. I then removed the first swab from its packaging and began the timer. I scraped the inside of my cheek firmly, while rotating the swab for 1 minute. I then opened one of the vials and placed the swab-end into the vial, before closing the vial I snapped the swab off at the break off point and then closed it. I then repeated the process with the second swab. I placed the vials and my signed consent form back into the package and sealed it up.

While scrapping the swabs off my cheek I didn’t really think of much, no questions or thoughts came to mind but one. A minute seems like forever when your waiting on it to be up. After I closed everything up and put the return address on to the envelope, and then my Mam took it to bless it. She wanted to make sure it has a safe journey and gets where it needs to and to have all my loved ones that have passed away to look over it for us. Such a cutie, I know! I thought it was a lovely gesture and let Mam bless away.

Tomorrow we post it back for testing and await for the results. As much as I want to get excited I have to stay grounded, there are so many possible outcomes and I need to be prepared for them all. I will be able to handle whatever cards I am delt, with the love and support of family and friends I know I will be just fine.

We have some other things that we are looking into in regards to my search, such as requesting all my adoption files from the ICBF, and requesting them to contact my biological family. This can take anywhere between 2 weeks and 6 months so it is most likely that this process will be a lot slower. This step is also another big step as there is a possibility they may have documents I don’t have or information that myself and my parents were unable to receive at the time of my adoption. Things like the name or place of the foster family or home I lived in or who it was that left me at the hospital? As we know it wasn’t my biological Mother or Father. What about my Father? was he in the picture at all? Why was his name left off my birth cert? Simple little details and contacts that could be very beneficial to our search. We know this journey could be long, and exhausting but we are taking little by little and taking day by day.

You can follow all updates regarding my adoption via my Facebook page Uncovering My Unknown . Thank you all again for your love and support. It means the world to me.