K.R....Who Are You?

A few months ago my wife got me a present. They purchased a D.N.A. testing kit from Ancestry.Com. Last week I got the results.

Turns out, as far as my ancestry goes, I'm pretty much what I would be if I had been born to my adoptive father and mother, which is kind of amazing.

In my culture, we research our ancestors. There's religious reasons for this, but it's so ingrained that it becomes who we are. We know where we came from and we work hard to learn even more. My parents, aunts and uncles have done a lot of the family research work for me. I know that my adoptive family comes form Europe, Great Britain, and Scandinavia.

Last week I opened up my D.N.A. results and guess what--according to my D.N.A. I come from Scandinavia, Western Europe, and Great Britain. In all honesty, where I come from doesn't really surprise me. I look like I come from that area of the planet. What did surprise me is how close that comes to the heritage of my adoptive family. It's like I'm one of them physically, and not just spiritually.

The Ancestry.Com also includes some other information. It identifies relatives. Turns out my D.N.A. connected me to at least one second cousin, a few third cousins, and many fourth cousins. The second cousin is my closest relative, according to the results, and the only information I have on her is that she's identified by the initials K.R. I've never met my birth parents--don't even know who they are. I've not devoted a lot of time to fine out, either. It's something that I figure I'll know one day. But now I have a nugget of information. I have something to research.

So, who are you, K.R.?

We share great-grandparents, all of whom are listed on my Ancestry.Com account.

Looks like I've got a real-life mystery on my hands.