My dad started searching for family and wants to know more of what happened to his mom during WWII. My dad also doesn't speak to 3/4 of his family because of "bad memories". My dad has been asking on heritage sites for information from family, including the 3/4 he does not speak to. He doesn't see this as conflicting and is generally not good with processing information he doesn't want to acknowledge. While I too want to know what happened to my grandmother and family during WWII in Poland and Germany and Hungary (older generations did not speak of what happened there), I backed out of the search because this is a setup to madness.

And yeah, count me in the "data privacy concerns" camp too.

Gud, please take care of yourself.

I've done a DNA test, but not for any particular family mystery, although it may help with my one set of great-great-grandparents, who managed to have a kid and then die between censuses like assholes.

It's different here (3 active cases on the island), and we're probably going to keep having our small game night for a couple/few weeks before going virtual again (travel restrictions are easing, so we'll probably start importing cases from Oahu and then the mainland, and people are gonna be dumb on the 4th), but the lockdown has, I think, really done a number on my kid's social/linguistic development. I worry about his whole cohort, really, most of whom aren't going to be getting interaction outside of their immediate family during a lot of their sensitive period for language. We've started arranging playdates for him with some of our (10 or so) social bubble friends. He's always been such a social baby with everyone who's not us, so being stuck with just us for a quarter of his life...sigh...

That's a real concern, Db.

A lot of adoptions aren't so much 'throwing away' as 'being told their only option is to throw away' for teenage women of past eras. Not to mention various horrible scenarios that can result in orphaned babies.

I suspect it's a better idea to let some time pass until it's all interesting anecdotes rather than dreadful personal history.

I understand that if a close relative has done DNA testing, most of your info is already in whatever databases are collecting it. I have to admit, I'm curious about Dad's side. We know his grandparents came over from Finland, but one of their parents has some sort of mystery to his origin. And there's other stuff—half heard rumors from older relatives long since passed that could be resolved with a DNA test. But I'll wait and let a less privacy minded cousin or suchlike pull the trigger.

Gud, I hope you're feeling better this morning.

I just had a palmful of raspberries from the bushes in my side yard. I feel all kinds of proud about growing my own food, but my very few contributions towards their cultivation, i.e. not cutting them back and occasionally tying them up so that they don't impede the walkway is almost the sole accomplishment I can point to.

I did a DNA test with the hopes of finding out if my legal father is indeed my biological father. To be clear, my hope is that he is not; he's an awful person. The other father option is much better. Unfortunately since I don't have access to any DNA from my paternal side, all I could hope for was that a relative would pop up who was clearly related to one or the other father option. But then I got a flood of distant cousins, most of whom seemed to be maternal side, and it was too much for me, so I never followed up.

Gud, are you sure you should be making dinner if you have a fever?

Maybe let the kids make their own until you're over the fever/sure it's nothing more serious?

I'm vaguely interested in finding out things like ethnic origin and potential medical info based on my genetics, but I've never had any curiosity about my specific biological parents. I was dealt a royal flush in terms of Mom & Dad adopting me and having great extended families on both sides; looking further afield always felt like tempting fate.

Timelies all!

Mr. S has been watching his tablet all day. He has a lot of screen time these days, mostly because it keeps him occupied. Yeah, I know...

my sister got her DNA tested and no surprise we're entirely northwestern European.

I planned to go to Home Depot today but this conversation is now making me second-guess myself...

I'm flying back to Florida on the 9th to go to a wedding. Originally we had reserved 3 days in Tampa for wedding festivities. I canceled those reservations and we are just driving over for the wedding then driving home. DH offered to go without me, but this is one of our basketball kids and I expect everyone will be on their best safe behavior. They had the cutest invitation, styled as a game ticket with tip off time and so forth. They are both basketball players and the families are both big into athletics.

There are no safe gatherings right now, Laura. At a wedding, people will be eating and drinking. The masks will come off. That is unsafe behavior. A bunch of people in one room (in FLA, so there will be air conditioning blowing around everyone's exhaled air) prevents best safe behavior.

Air travel isn't safe. I understand this young man is important to your DH, but I hope both of you change your minds and just send the couple an extra nice gift. If he's important to you two, then you're important to him, too. Imagine how he'd feel if you or DH contracted COVID-19 by traveling to or attending his wedding.

5/20/2020: Virologist hospitalized with coronavirus believes he got it through his eyes: "Dr. Joseph Fair, a virologist and epidemiologist who has been hospitalized with the coronavirus despite being in good health and taking precautions, said Thursday that he believes he contracted the virus through his eyes on a crowded flight. [...] "'I had a mask on, I had gloves on, I did my normal wipes routine ... but obviously, you can still get it through your eyes', Fair said on the 'TODAY' show from his hospital bed. 'And, of course, I wasn't wearing goggles on the flight'." [link]

Laura, are you under quarantine for entering NY from Florida?

That is the plan. It is a completely honor system thing so far as I know. We have gone grocery shopping, and I went to Lowe's. My nephew came over and fixed a couple of things that broke over winter, but we wore masks and stayed at a distance. My niece went to NC to visit her son and see her brand new grandchild, so now she has to take two weeks off work. Not sure if or how they actually enforce these things though.

None of what you describe is quarantining, though. You may be on the honor system, but but by returning, you're agreeing you will not interact with anyone for two weeks, not even just for a run to the store or gas station, not even with masks.

I'm being a scold because I care about you, and I'll shut up after this post. If you or your husband got sick, or God forbid, worse, I'd never forgive myself for not being a pain in the ass.

6/27/2020: NY student sparks COVID-19 cluster after returning from Florida [link]

6/28/2020: Coronavirus: Florida reports more than 8,500 new coronavirus cases Sunday. This marks "the third straight day more than 8,500 new cases have been reported. [...] The new cases bring the statewide total to 140,075. [...] Florida is now reporting 3,419 coronavirus related deaths, which is an increase of 29 since Saturday." [link]

6/28/2020: Live updates: Arizona, Florida, Texas are latest coronavirus epicenters: "Florida, Texas and Arizona are fast emerging as the country's latest epicenters after reporting record numbers of new infections for weeks in a row. Positivity rates and hospitalizations have also spiked." [link]

I'm going to go cut my son's hair now and leave you be.