Monday, August 31, 2026

On Monday morning, Chase had a heavy bag of cleaning and personal use products to carry into school. Gibault is having a charity drive for the products, as shown in the first picture below. Daddy took Chase to Dollar General yesterday after Chase’s second baseball game so they could buy the products. When Chase got out of the car, he lifted the bag in the air and said, “Now I have to carry this all the way to the gym!” When Nanaw picked Chase up from school, they called Mama but she didn’t answer so they left a message for her to call them. A few minutes later when she called, Chase reported that the mini cordn dogs were good. He told Mama that he would pack his lunch for tomorrow at the Theology retreat in Valmeyer. (That’s Chase being an independent high schooler!) Mama reported that she was going to Costco after work to start up their membership again. Nanaw said maybe they could go to Arby’s for lunch on Friday after Target. Chase said maybe they could get pizza at Costco because it’s close to Target where they’re going for notebooks. So there’s a decision to make. Chase reported that he has a math test on Wednesday. Nanaw reminded him of his promise to study for tests with Nanaw but he wanted to wait till Tuesday to study. He made a pinky-swear promise to Nanaw that they would study on Tuesday. Nanaw looked at a math quiz Chase had taken and worked through the problems. Neither one of them got them all correct so there’s a lot of studying to be done!

Saturday, August 29 and Sunday, August 30, 2026

First, Nanaw will tell about Chase’s plan for not forgetting things (like a permission slip or homework or a quiz or test, all of which he’s done in the past two weeks) that Chase came up with all on his own. On the drive home from school on Friday afternoon, Chase told Nanaw how he had forgotten to have Mama sign a permission slip. On Friday, hHe was supposed to turn in the permission slip for Tuesday’s Theology retreat. The teacher gave him special permission to turn it in on Monday, but Chase was worried about forgetting things. So far, he’d forgotten to do one of his homework assignments, and he’d forgotten a quiz, plus the permission slip. He thought about making a list of things to do but was afraid he’d lose it. Then he came up with the idea of keeping track of things to do in Schoology, the school’s digital dashboard for homework, tests, quizzes, messages from the teacher and the principal, etc. Nanaw said she thought that was a great idea. He checked it out on his laptop when they got home and figured out how to do. He was surprised to find out that all of his homework and assignments were already on Schoology so that was good. On Saturday, Chase and his Bears team had two baseball games: The lost the first one 10 to 0 and lost the 2:15 game also. They got home from baseball in time for Daddy and Chase to go to mass at 5 p.m. Chase did some homework when Chase got back. Aunt Becca came over with Brogan on Saturday night for a couple of hours. She and Mama sat outside for a couple of hours and chatted, and Mama said it was nice. On Sunday morning, Chase played at 9 a.m., and the Bears lost again. When he got home, he finished his homework. Then Daddy and Chase went to the River Lakes golf course to play golf. It’s the one by the driving range, and it’s probably the least expensive golf course in Columbia. It costs about $50 for the two of them to play and to rent a golf cart. 

Thursday, August 27 and Friday, August 28, 2027

On the way to school Thursday morning, Chase and Nanaw discussed the Gibault Thursday lunch – chicken nuggets. Chase said whenever they have a chicken dish for lunch, that’s the only entrée choice instead of having two choices. They always have mashed potatoes and gravy when they have the one chicken dish. Uncle Mike came over to cut Nanaw’s grass on Thursday, plus spray for ants. He stopped at Home Depot (although Life360 always says Home Deport is Smoothie King) and bought three little bushes for the front yard that were on sale for $3 each. Home Deport is trying to get rid of all their plants and bushes. On the way home from school Chase reported that the chicken nuggets were good, better than ICS. But he said the chicken fries they had the other day weren’t good, and the ones at ICS were much better. On the Friday morning drive to school, Chase and Nanaw had a rider with them – they gave Brady a ride to school. Brady’s mom was going to the mass at Gibault with the students but she had to get Emma to ICS first so Brady needed a ride. Chase was happy about it, and the two of them laughed and talked all the way to school. It was some kind of special mass where parents and grandparents were invited, and the boys had to wear their white Oxford cloth shirts and khaki pants or shorts. Nanaw took a picture of the boys before they left, and Chase’s picture was on the school’s Facebook page. On the way home from school. Chase was very talka tive and in a good mood – quite a miracle. He said the pizza bread they had for lunch was really good, and he wants to make some next Friday for Enrichment Friday. He also said he needs two new, bigger notebooks -- a red one and a black one. He said maybe they could go to Target to get them with Mama because she’s off and then go to lunch. But they would still make the pizza bread that day as a snack. He was excited that he was going to play golf with Brady and Drew at the golf course by the driving range at 4:30. Nanaw had to have him home by 4 p.m. When they got to Chase’s house, they asked Mama about their plans for next Friday, and she said they could do it if she was only away from home for two hours. She wants to have enough time to clean the house for the day before Labor Day party at their house.  In the Days of Chase post for the weekend, Nanaw will tell about Chase’s plan for not forgetting things (like a permission slip or homework or a quiz or test, all of which he’s done in the past two weeks) that Chase came up with all on his own.

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!