Cup of Coffee with Katie

“But what happens if you just cheat?”   I’d say that question has officially been added to my   “If I only had $1 for every time I was asked this question, I wouldn't have to work 3 jobs to get by…” list. (I'll leave you to guess what the other 2 questions are on that list!) One of my caring students I mentioned in my Christmas post posed the   question:  “Miss Burke, what if on Christmas you just said ‘Oh forget it’ and ate a bagel?” Yes, I know it’s a hard concept to understand why this would never even enter my mind as within the realm of possibility. I know why non-celiacs don’t get it. I mean if someone has an anaphylactic allergy, the answer is obvious. No one questions someone with a nut allergy…clearly staying alive is reason enough to avoid them. But what about those of us with the autoimmune food illnesses? We’re all too often misunderstood and confusion-inducing. And though that at times can be infuriating, I also can say I’ve reached a point where I’m empat

You've made it to December 23rd and if you're anything like the people I saw swarming Target last night, you're still wrapping up that last-minute shopping. Or just taking advantage of the 10% discount...I certainly did. And I paid with cash so no hacking worries for me :-) Over the years, I've come to the conclusion that gift-giving is an art. A fine one at that. Some gift exchanges are simple: they follow a tradition. Each year I give you a different themed rubber duck, you give me a new Chia pet, we excitedly hug and that's that. Others are predetermined and thus also simple: you buy tickets to this event, I'll make reservations and cover dinner beforehand, we both add it to our calendars and look at us: we've gifted ourselves time together (which I'd argue is the most valuable gift of all). Others however can be more complicated. What do you get for the crotchety man down the street who seems unimpressed by life, let alone gifts? How about tha

Yes, it happened…somehow I blinked and here it is just 4 days before Christmas. I know I’ve heard from some readers who were worried I had fallen off the face of the earth…or worse that I had abandoned my writing and decided I was done passing on knowledge/reflecting on life. Have no fear: neither of those is the case. Rather, I’ve been entirely consumed by the madness of report card craziness which then morphed into two weeks of non-stop work editing units in a role which is new to me this year: clinical faculty at the University of Notre Dame. (It’s still rather surreal to me to be on the other end of the ACE portfolio, but what has still remained unchanged is that ACE teachers never cease to amaze me with their dedication or inspire me with their talent.) Throw in wrapping up another semester with my construction men, a few weekend shifts at the hospital, and as any teacher knows, the madness which is December in a school setting, and I’m sure you can see why I didn’t have time to