So...what's in a name???

First off, I'd like to thank everyone for NOT bombarding me with e-mails about the name (like my wife suggested.) Then again, those who know me well know that I rarely read e-mails. Checking my inbox daily usually consists of select-all followed by delete.

Now about this name....
The first name is Zachary. A lot of you probably already knew that. And we didn't pick it because of the "double Z" or anything like that. The real story behind it is Wendy bought a book of "100,001+ Best Baby Names." Wendy read through this and passed every name on to me that she liked. Girl names were easy, we had at least 10 of them that we liked. Boys, on the other hand, were hard to find one. By the end, if she said a name, and I didn't make a comment, that meant "move on." She got to Z and read Zachary. I said "I kinda like that one, add it to our list." To which she said "that IS our list." That's how we picked Zachary, and it becomes more fitting as you will find out.

The middle name came easy. We decided it wouldn't be fair to pick a side of the family to honor, so our dad's names were out. Then Wendy said "why don't we name him after your friend Chad?"

Chad was first a rival. He went to my high school's rival, Hollidaysburg. Growing up, we were always on opposite sides of the field. In every sport, there he was. We pitched against each other too many times to count in little league all-stars, pony league (13-15 yrs.) and the federation league (16-18). We guarded each other in Junior High basketball. Then, when we were 16, we got picked for a traveling all-star team in baseball. For the first time we wore the same uniform, and became friends instead of rivals and enemies. When we were Juniors, we were talking after a baseball game (Central vs. Hollidaysburg....another rivalry) and found out we were both going to Shippensburg. That was it, we HAD to room together. We spent every minute together at college, then came home every weekend did things back home or hung out with our old friends and kept track of stories we could tell as soon as we got back to school. When school was out for the summer, we joined the same AAABA team and played ball all summer. Our sophomore year, we got a townhouse off campus and lived there with one of my high school friends, Clint, until I quit school after the fall semester.

Chad graduated from Shippensburg in 2005 and went on to the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia. We remained in contact through an occasional phone call or a visit to a bonfire at his parents house. Both of us were busy with our own lives, I had my own business and was trying to make that work out, and Chad was in Pittsburgh on an internship. I figured that in a couple of years when things settled down we'd be back in touch, but that wasn't the case. Chad was on his way home from Pittsburgh for Easter when he was killed in a car accident on March 21, 2008. I was a mess. I still visit the cemetary anytime I'm in that way and have a few minutes.

I was so excited when Wendy suggested Chad for Zachary's middle name. It means a lot to me that she was willing to name our son after a close friend of mine that she was only able to meet once. Knowing this whole story makes our first name more fitting. We were unaware when we picked it, but according to quickbabynames.com Zachary means "God remembers." And I know that's the case.....God remembers Chad.











Sorry, this is the best picture I could find. This is Chad and I in front of Cinergy Field in Cincinnati, OH, summer of 1999