Charming Chase

Chase Cain and her Grandma Lois -- two peas in a pod.

We are starting our blog this year with a visit from Chase Cain -- our granddaughter. Chase visited us from May 13th until May 17th after finishing her Spring semester at East Illinois University where she is majoring in psychology. She volunteered that she aced all her courses aith a 4.o GPA. We are quite proud of her.

Chase brought a shcool friend with her -- Tiffany Kennedy -- who is majoring in elementary education. Both ladies are on the university's women's rugby team. Tiffany has a grandmother, Joan Kennedy, who lives in our community in Florida and Tiffany stayed with her grandmother. They did the same thing last year during Spring break.

They took some time in the sun our at the beach on Anna Marie Island, but the rest of the time they took in some rays at our community swimming pool. Any talk on our part about the sun not being a friend fell upon deraf ears. That is all part of being young.

Grandma Lois took Chase shopping at the De Soto Mall. Chase said she loves to go shopping with Grandma because she grew up without a mome and therefore without the shred experience of two females on a shopping adventure together.

We were both impressed with how Chase has developed and matured during her college career. We had lots of time to visit. Whatever the subject, Chase was very open and honest. She was assertive and never defensive. She readily admitted areas where she was weak and not knowledgeable. She listened attentively and contributed her thoughts appropriately. She was always respectful of someone else's point of view.

Although Chase wil be 21 years old on May 29th, we celebrated two birthdays -- Chase's and her grandmother's 80th -- by going to dinner at the "Island Cerperie" -- a cozy French restaurant which has at least a dozen different crepe desserts to choose from. Grandma and Grandpa each had a glass of wine, but Chase doesn't plan to start with alcoholic beverages any time soon. She told us she has seen what alcohol has done to people in her life and she can easily do without.

Chase's future plans include a master's desgree for sure. She was also talking about a possible PdD. With the job market as bad as it is, Chase thinks a good alternative to consider is staying in school a bit longer.