Do an ancestry DNA test

“Then you mail it using the enclosed box which is already addressed to Ancestry's lab. At this point, you'll do the waiting game by tracking the box on USPS and wondering why 6-8 weeks feels like 40 years. Finally, your phone will ding with an e-mail notification from Ancestry telling you that your results have arrived! I'm telling you, it feels like a child finding out he's going to Disney World. [...] What I didn't expect is that Ancestry shows you DNA matches. These are other people who took the Ancestry DNA test and are related to you! Crazy, right? I have over 4oo matches. And while I obviously saw a few relatives that had already taken the test before me [...], I quickly discovered a host of family I knew nothing about! Cousins, aunts and all kinds of people who I'd never heard about.”

“What do you do when you’re waiting for the doctor to come into the exam room? I used to read magazines, but like many of us, I now goof around on my smartphone. I checked my mail, and my results were in. What better place to explore who I am? [...] Scandinavia, huh? That came as a surprise! I don’t know of anyone from that region. Might have to chalk that up to Viking raids.”

“I’ve been worried about the ways I can screw this up. Will the pork rinds I ate at dinner show up in my results? What if I can’t spit enough? [...] The instructions were easy … and though it was a little more spitting than I’m accustomed to, it wasn’t onerous. [...] Now the waiting. Not my strong suit.”