DEAR ABBY: In my junior year of high school, my girlfriend got pregnant. We married and had a son. Although our marriage was very rocky, two years later we had a daughter. I knew from the beginning she was not my biological child because of her blood type, but I loved her all the same. I never told my daughter or my ex-wife (now deceased) what I knew. Four years after her birth we divorced, and I retained custody of my two children.
I later remarried and had one more child. Fifty years have now passed. With DNA testing being so prevalent, I'm at a loss. Most of my family (my parents, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren) have been tested and show up linked to me.
My daughter, her children and grandchildren do not show up anywhere on my DNA chart. They live 2,000 miles away, but we communicate weekly. I am sure that she and some of her family have been tested and "suspect" but are saying nothing to spare my feelings. I feel I need to clear the air with my daughter, but my wife says to let sleeping dogs lie. Advice? -- OLD DOG IN THE WEST
DEAR OLD DOG: I agree with your wife. You raised your daughter, and she is as much your child as if she had "come from your loins." You ARE her dad. IF she or one of her family members has been DNA tested and she hasn't broached the subject with you, it may be because she has no questions she wants to ask you. I see nothing to be gained by raising the subject now.