My Daughter's DNA

My daughter got her Ancestry DNA results back.  The running joke is that it proves that I am her mother.  She congratulated me.  (I'll take that, thankyouverymuch!)  There was never a doubt who her father was.  Aside from the fact that I was married to him and never cheated, she was the spitting image of his daughter from his first wife, as a toddler.  The McNary genes are stronger than the Covill genes that determine appearance.  (That is actually merciful.)  A few hours after she was born, her father and I walked down to the nursery to look at her through the window.  I said to him, "She looks like you."  He said, "Yes, she does."  Case closed.

The DNA reports show propensity toward health risks.  Doesn't mean they will happen, only that they could by nature of genetics.  There is a lot to digest in those reports.  Apparently, Meg has many indicators for obesity, which has been a constant problem for her in life.  She tells me that, of the three sets of DNA results that she's seen (including mine), I have the lowest risk of obesity.  Tell that to my body!!!  Does that mean that her fatness risk comes from her father's side of the family, or that I've just been inattentive to my own health?  I can't begin to understand, but now I wish I had learned more about genetics science in my younger years.  It's fascinating!

I have long jokingly complained that my sister got all of the good family genes, and I got what was leftover.  SHE has a full, thick head of hair without much by way of gray, even at her age.  SHE was told that she had a "young heart" in spite of a family history of major heart disease.  SHE always carried a reasonable amount of weight for her tiny frame.  Me?  Yeah...well...we'll not talk about that.

My poor daughter is tall (5' 11") with a large frame.  That didn't come from my side of the family.  I think my mother's brother was probably the tallest person in our family.  My grandmother was normal-sized when she was on her feet.  (Maybe 5' 6".)  My mother was 5' 3".  My sister is 5' 2".  I'm 5' 5".  All of the men--except maybe Uncle Bud, who I just mentioned--were all under 6 feet, as far back as I know.  The unknown factor is my father's side of the family.  He distanced himself from them as a young man, and both of his parents had passed before I was born, so much of that history is gone.

Does it matter?  No.  Yes.  Er...maybe.
I had my DNA tested a year ago, thanks to a gift from my daughter.
She and her husband just got theirs done, as well.  It's nothing else if not fun to know where you are at the molecular level.   So be it!