three letters shorter

For now, I'll call him Zachary.  Over the course of his eight years, though, he has been known by a number of names in our home: Zachary, Zach, Zachy, Zacharini and Zacharini the Great (sometimes morphing into Zacharini the "Grape" by the younger members of our crew).  For the first three or four years of his life, I mostly alternated between Zach and Zachary, not sure which I preferred.

However, when he started learning how to write his name, he meticulously (with great penmanship) and proudly wrote every letter of his name, and made it known that he preferred his full name, Zachary.

OK, Zachary it is.  And, Zachary it has been... until recently.

Just new this school year, I've been noticing "Zach" at the top of his school papers.  I recently inquired of this change, and was informed that he has decided that he likes Zach just as well, and it is three letters shorter than Zachary... almost half as many.  He figured with the amount of times he would have to write his name over the course of his school career, shortening his name from seven letters to four would save a lot of time and effort.  He told me I could still call him Zachary, if I preferred, but, at least at school, he was going to go with Zach.

Wow, I'm not sure what to make of that. Is school really so busy that he feels the need to shorten his name to pack everything in a day?  Is cutting his name in half the epitomy of laziness?  Is he to be praised for his efficiency for pondering the effort saved in writing half his name?  It could be any of the above, but it's more likely just a kid experimenting with a little independence and finding his identity.

Well, Zach... ary, I fondly remember you being proud of meticulously writing every letter of your full name, and you have conditioned me over the past few years to call you Zachary.  So, although I will still alternate between Zach and Zachary, I think I will continue to prefer Zachary.  (But, you may never escape Zacharini... at least when your friends aren't around!)