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.

I will say, Laura, that I was taken aback by your plans to fly back to attend that wedding. I don't think the flying or the wedding will be safe, and you are in a high risk group. And Florida is really blowing up right now.

My FiL's girlfriend tried to keep him from taking that one last cross country flight, but he thought it was important for his business. I think that's when he was exposed.

FWIW, I got tested again this afternoon here in NY. I tested negative in Florida at the end of April.

I'm going to offer a slightly different perspective on the DNA to find family issues. What is "painful family history" for one group, may well be a complete lack of information for someone who was given up for adoption. In an adoption the one person who has no say in what happens, and in most cases has almost no legal rights, is the adoptee. So much of the adoption process is about protecting the rights and privacy of only one side of the adoption. In CA, as an adoptee I didn't even have the right to KNOW that I was adopted. Many of you watched that unfold in real time as I found out. I will admit that I'm definitely sensitive about this, but when I see comments about not wanting to deal with difficult family secrets, I see if from the other side, and it hurts.

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

I feel you. There is a lot of screen time built into our daily schedule.

I decided to do the DNA test because I was curious about how well the ethnicity results would match up with family lore (not contradicted so far) and interested in potential medical insights (kind of too many to sort through but all very minor fro what I've seen) but the reason I am now super glad I did it is I turned up as the closest relative found by a third cousin who had been adopted and had virtually no information about her birth parents - my mom was able to tell her who her mother probably was, at least. Feels like I helped someone a little.