“Sarah said, ‘God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.’ And she added, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’” (Genesis 21:6 & 7)

Isaac, meaning Laughter in Hebrew. as the parents that had conceived him were far too old to have a child, but they still did, causing laughter when he was seen. Seen to always be a bitter and old couple controlled by their fear of growing old without kin. They often bickered among themselves about how bad their lives were and how angry they were that they had no apparent hope for a child. Until God spoke to Abraham to tell him that he and his wife were to have more children than there are stars in the night sky, or sand on a beach.

Though his wife thought he had finally gone insane, he stuck true to what God had told him. Soon after, at the ages of 100 and 90, Isaac was born. A child that was a promise and a fulfilment of said promise, Leading Abraham to trust God wholeheartedly and Sarah to finally realize the sign she was given.

Isaac. I was also given the title of ‘laughter.’ My father decided my name before he was even sure if I was a boy. He was so he didn’t even let my mom think of any girl names.my mother didn’t even think that she could give birth anymore. For 3 weeks she felt drowsy in the morning and went to the doctor’s only to discover that she was carrying little ol’ me.

My parents were 49 and 44 when I was born. My mother called me the “God has a sense of humor” child. Showing that miracles, planned or unplanned, come in all shapes, sizes, and senses of humor.

I was born the connecting piece of 3 different families. The Finucans. The Zappavingas. and The McGraws. All 9 of my siblings are half, meaning we share one of my parents, but not both. Although I’ve lost loved ones along the way, I still see them all as my family, through and through. Three big worlds colliding with myself at the epicenter.

Sacrifice wasn’t something that easily came to pass, my mother temporarily dropped her nursing career to support me and my father did something similar to support her, leaving his job so she can successfully finish nursing school after trying for over a decade only for life to push her down. When I was born she thought that was it, no more career, just a no good job that won’t get her anywhere. Instead I became her backer at the ripe old age of 3, she would read her medical books to me night after night, learning new information while putting me to sleep.

My family protected me from so much over the years, even when I didn’t see it they were shaping me into the person I am today, embodying my name to become a joyful and excited person that I am today, helping through loss and tragedy to never lose the laughter you can get from life.