Wednesday. August 26, 2026

On the way to school, Chase and Nanaw talked about the lunch choices for Wednesday: Philly Steak and Hot Ham and Cheese. Chase said he was having Hot Ham and Cheese because he didn’t know what Philly Steak was. Nanaw tried to explain it but forgot about the green peppers, which Mama reminded her of when they talked about it. Chase doesn’t like green peppers so that’s why he’s never had Philly Steaks. When Nanaw picked Chase up from school, she asked about lunch, and he said the Hot Ham and Cheese was cold but it was good anyway, and he liked it. As usual, he said he had a good day.He said he had some homework but not much. Nanaw thawed his leftover Sonic Blast for his first snack. Then he wanted another snack so Nanaw put together his usual half-healthy, half-not-healthy snack for him. He wanted some of the Sour Patch Watermelon candy but they were out of it. Nanaw promised to get some at the grocery store tomorrow. In the meantime, she bought a small bag at Dollar Tree when she was there this evening. Chase had a workout at 6 p.m. and so Nanaw had to have him home by five. He’s going to a special mass at Gibault on Friday and is supposed to wear a long-sleeved, white Oxford shirt with khaki pants. Also on Friday, his friend Brady is riding to school with them, which will make Chase very happy.

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Nanaw went to Chase’s house around noon today because it was cleaning lady day. Nanaw had fun playing with Tyler and his new toy. Nanaw hopes the one she bought for her cats arrives from Amazon today. Brady’s grandma Debbie wasn’t at Gibault again today to pick up Brady because of golf. When Nanaw picked Chase up from school today, she told him that it takes 14 minutes to get to Gibault from his house and 20 minutes from Nanaw’s house. Evie’s mom was there to pick up Evie, and she had their dog with her. It was so cute to see her playing with the dog. Chase said he got a 95 on his drawing of his water bottle, which is an A. The grading scale is different at Gibault, in the students’ favor. 90 to 100 is an A; 80 to 90 is a B; 70 to 80 is a C; and 60 to 70 is a D. He also said he had a beef taco for lunch, and it was good. Nanaw asked him if there was any class he really liked, and he said he liked all of them. This made Nanaw really happy because he hadn’t said anything to anyone about how he felt about school. Nanaw was afraid he wouldn’t like school because it’s so different and difficult, and the adjustment would be too hard. But evidently not. Chase did his homework at Nanaw’s house and got it all done. The cat toy arrived at Nanaw’s in the evening, and after a lot of hit and miss efforts nanaw finally figured out how to put it together. The kitties like it!

Monday, August 24, 2026

On the Monday morning drive to school, Chase looked at the copy of the Gibault lunch menu that Nanaw keeps in the car. The entrée choices for lunch today were Parmesan Chicken and Spaghetti with Meat Sauce. Nanaw said something about that being a tough choice, and Chase asked, “Don’t you know who you’re talking to?” He meant that one of his absolute favorite foods is spaghetti so there was no doubt in his mind which entrée he would choose. When Nanaw picked him up after school, he reported that the spaghetti was really good and so were the bread sticks that accompanied it. So all is well in the lunch world. He also reported that his House group wanted to play volleyball again but fortunately for Chase’s dislike of the game, there wasn’t a volleyball court available for them to play on. Out of curiosity, Nanaw looked up the House arrangements on the Gibault website. It says: “The House System helps students build meaningful connections with classmates from every grade level, creating friendships and mentorship opportunities that may not happen otherwise. Houses meet four days a week, bringing students together through competitions, service projects, faith activities, and social events, the Houses foster unity, belonging, and school spirit. Ultimately, the House System helps every student feel known, valued, and connected within Gibault.” The only homework that Chase had after school was math, which didn’t take him very long. He has a workout tonight so Nanaw had to get him home by five so he had time for dinner. At Chase’s house, Nanaw made sure to look at two of their Facebook purchases: the skeleton with a leash to a skeleton dog and a new interactive toy for Tyler, a toy which he finally likes and plays with. Nanaw really liked it and decided to buy one, which she did. It’s supposed to arrive tomorrow. 

Friday, August 21, Saturday, August 22, and Sunday, August 23

Note: This is the 5,000th post of Days of Chase. The blog started a couple of months after Chase was born. Yay! 

On Friday, Gibault had the lunch Chase was looking forward to. Last year, when Chase went there for his Shadow Day, for lunch they had something called Bosco Sticks. Those were breadsticks stuffed with cheese, and Chase told Nanaw they were delicious. Nanaw thinks they may have had a role to play in Chase’s decision that he wanted to go to Gibault. This year, Chase said the Bosco Sticks were really good again, so success! When Chase came out of school, he was not happy. He told Nanaw his House played volleyball at the end of the day, and Chase does not like volleyball. It may be the only sport he doesn’t like. He just doesn’t see the point of it. Fortunately, he had something really special to look forward to on Friday evening, so that helped with his mood. His friend Tucker and Tucker’s parents had invited Chase to a Savannah Bananas baseball game. They took pictures of the boys, and Mama forwarded them to Nanaw. On Saturday, Chase had two Bears baseball games. Unfortunately, the team lost both games, and Mama said they didn’t play well at all. Mama sent the baseball picture below to Nanaw. Then on Sunday, the team played much better and won one of their two games. Mama again sent a baseball picture. When they got home from baseball, Amazon had made a delivery to them. First, Daddy ordered another toy for Tyler, and this one Tyler seems to like. Then Mama had ordered note paper entitled Catitude, which is what she and Chase say Truman has. She also ordered note paper for Nanaw that’s entitled Life Is Better with Cats. But the most important arrival was a skeleton holding the leash of a skeleton dog – picture below. Nanaw can’t wait to see it! On Sunday Uncle Mike and cousing Robbie went fishing out at the little house, and Robbie posted pictures of their catch – lots of huge fish!

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Thursday was a much quieter, less complicated day than Wednesday for Nanaw. Things are going well with getting Chase to school on time. They leave the house at 7:25 a.m. and get to Gibault by 7:45. That gives Chase a few minutes before he has to be in Home Room at 7:55 a.m. Funnily enough, the biggest thing about school to Chase so far is lunch. He’s very interested in what they have for lunch each day, and he’s very happy with the meals. Today they had chicken strips, and Chase said they were good. He said he ate the fruit for a change, and it was a pear, and it was good. On the drive home from school, Nanaw asked again if Chase would agree to let her view his Schoology dashboard. Nanaw would like to see what he’s learning and learn along with him. There was a silence before Chase answered Nanaw. Then he said, “I would prefer not.” Maybe Nanaw will try again, and she’ll tell him she wants to learn along with him, and she won’t bug him or nag him about anything. When he got home from school, he put the finishing touches on his drawing of a container for art class. He drew a picture of his Blues water bottle, and Nanaw thinks he did an excellent job. He’s not an artist but he did his best, and Nanaw thinks it’s great. Nanaw took a picture of Chase’s drawing, and it’s the second picture below. Chase also studied for a Driver’s Ed quiz that’s tomorrow. When Nanaw took Chase home, Daddy showed her the squiggly, animated mouse he bought for Tyler. Unfortunately Tyler didn’t like the mouse and left the room whenever Daddy tried to get him to play with it. So Daddy gave it to Nanaw for her cats. Mamaw’s cats really liked the mouse toy and play with it whenever Nanaw puts it out for them. In the evening, Chase had hitting practice and then baseball practice. He didn’t get home until after 10 p.m. so he was late getting to bed. But it’s only one night a week. 

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

The sleepover worked out very well, and both Chase and Nanaw had a good time. Chase woke up all on his own at 6:45. He got himself dressed in his purple House shirt, then ate his breakfast. Nanaw had a jam-packed date today. First, she took Chase to school, then she picked Mama up from St. Clare, where Mama had her procedure. Nanaw brought a Pepsi and a bag of marshmallows for Mama to snack on. Next, Nanaw had a teeth cleaning appointment with Teresa at the dentist’s office and then she had the church meeting. Next, she went to pick Chase up from school. They were supposed to take Brady to the Columbia library for a tutoring session but it turned out that he had to play golf with the golf team. So they didn’t take Brady to the library. On the drive home and at Nanaw’s house, Chase told Nanaw about his day. For lunch, Chase had a bratwurst. The other choice was ribs but Chase doesn’t like barbecue. For homework, he had a sketchbook assignment for Art and a biology assignment. He finished the biology assignment at Nanaw’s house. His sketchbook assignment isn’t due till Friday so he’s going to work on it at school tomorrow and then if it isn’t done, he’ll work on it after school. The assignment is to draw a container, and he’s going to draw his Blues water bottle. Chase had a workout session at 6 p.m. today, and he’s happy that Tucker and Connor will be there. Nanaw isn’t sure who Connor is so she’ll ask Chase tomorrow and report back.

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Chase’s second day of high school went well. He had chicken crispito for lunch and said it was good. Interestingly enough, they list two entrees on the menu but Chase says they usually have three, so you have a bigger choice. Mama sent an email about a mass tomorrow when everybody is going to wear their House shirts. Chase’s House is named Justice and his shirt is purple – lavender actually. The Houses are groups of students who gather together for various things. Chase will provide additional information when he has it. So far, the thing Chase is most interested in is lunch. LOL Nanaw asked him about the popular kids at Gibault, and he said there aren’t any. He said everybody gets along with everybody else. Tonight is Chase’s sleepover at Nanaw’s. Chase had Sonic, and Nanaw had a Crunch Wrap Surpreme from Taco Bell. After that, they went to Chase’s house to pick up his clothes for tomorrow (the purple shirt and uniform pants) and have Mama sign a paper about a syllabus. Then they came home and built a fire in the fire pit to toast marshmallows. Nanaw put up chairs and a table for them to sit and look at the fire in the firepit and at the fireworks solar lights in Nanaw’s front yard. It was fun! Then Chase took his shower and went to bed, followed soon by Nanaw.