Processing the frustration of unanswered connections It has now been a decade since I first spit in a tube to see what the science would say. Hard to believe how much I’ve learned, and unlearned since then. Right after we flipped the calendar to usher in 2023, I was able…

A quick hood lesson, for button-pushers and habitual line-steppers LANGUAGE WARNING (in case the above meme didn’t make that clear) This essay is not an attempt to defend, excuse, or justify Will Smith’s actions during the Academy Award telecast. He doesn’t need me to do that. Doesn’t pay me to…

Lessons learned in Pandemic Year 2, and how to do better in the 2–2 I was really ready to come back outside, y’all. But Delta has transmogrified to Omicron, and a bunch of my favorite people turned up positive between Thanksgiving and New Year’s and…heavy sigh. I now feel like…

What another crazy year has taught me about me For all of you who follow The DNA Journey series, I thank you for coming along for the ride. 2021, despite ending on just a slightly more upbeat point in the pandemic than this time 365 days ago, has not been…

So many former loves, now tragic farewells I f^cking hate funerals. Figured I’d lead with the distasteful, potentially offensive statement, so I could get it out of the way early. The reasons for my feelings are vast. The sheer expense of funerals and their accoutrement, for starters. Even if you…

A pondering on generations and disconnect I really like the above image. Even though it is not of my own family, it is a reflection of the inclusive rainbow that surrounds me when I am hanging out with my closest cousins, their partners, and kids. My cousin Dianne is inadvertently…

The video venture is off to a solid start Hey, fellow gene sleuths! Dropping in your inboxes for a quick update and check-in. I am pleased to report that my new video series, Blood At The Roots, has been well-received. I’m now 2 episodes in, and think I’ll be able…

Expanding this conversation to the moving image Subscribers, thank you for sticking with me through a bit of a prolonged silence. I was a super busy girl through this past spring, working on some very meaningful projects for some of my media and PR clients. (I’ll include some links at…

There really is a devil in the details, sometimes Greetings, fellow genealogy sleuths! If I have learned anything at all over the past five years of my journey, it’s that occasionally you have to go back over the things you think you know with a fine tooth comb. Accuracy demands…