Cup of Coffee with Katie

“Miss Burke, don’t you remember?? It was a Tuesday and we got ANOTHER brand new schedule and you told us that nothing is constant in life except for change. Well, and Jesus…you added him in there too." Of course my honest answer to that question was no. I actually have no recollection of the conversation…but I will admit it certainly sounds like something I would say so I believe him. (Don’t you just love when kids remember every detail of every word that came out of your mouth a year later? Of course it’s rarely the conversations you actually wanted them to remember…or at least the ones you planned for them to hold onto. But such is the life of a teacher or parent I suppose.) One of my astute 6 th graders said those words to me last week. I was lucky enough to move up with my 5 th graders from last year so I have a feeling we’re in for a year full of similar statements. It’s funny because just 2 days later, I finally had a moment to sit and relax (in the doctor’s office…wh...

You know how every once in awhile something happens where you just feel as if the stars are aligning or the universe has conspired to send you a message that just fits in so perfectly with where you are in life that you have to step back and say whoa?? Today was one of those days for me. See I just got back from a whirlwind weekend celebrating my grandparents’ 60 th wedding anniversary with my family. These 2 have a love story that it seems only Hallmark movies are made of these days: he was an immigrant from Ireland who stepped off a boat in New York Harbor not knowing a soul aside from his own siblings and father who had taken the trip with him. She was 1 of 4 children born into a first-generation Irish Catholic family in New York City. They met at a dance…you know the kind that happened every weekend in 1950s New York… and the rest is history. 3 children, 7 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren later, they’ve seen it all. I had a particularly lengthy chat with my grandfather ab...

Ah yes, everywhere you look the sights and sounds of the season are upon us. You know the ones I mean: bright unscuffed tennis shoes and blinding white saddle shoes, freshly sharpened pencils with uneroded pink erasers, ads filled with unbelievable prices from 25 cent crayons to 50 cent Sharpies (50 cents!! I bought 2 of every color!) School bells ring, diesel engines idle next to you at the red light, traffic seems to multiply exponentially...yes, it’s the week I affectionately refer to as simultaneously the best and worst week of the calendar year: Back to School. See, I went right from a student desk to the teacher desk so I’ve literally never had a year of my life after age 5 which didn’t involve going “Back to School” in some way, shape, or form. As a kid, it was my favorite week for a lot of reasons: I LOVED school, I LOVED learning, I LOVED buying new crisp notebooks and picking out which Disney character would adorn my new hard plastic lunchbox for the year (not to mention...

For those of us on the East Coast, today has brought a return to summer weather…but as WBAL-TV just reminded me, this is the first time in 18 days that the temperature at BWI has reached 90 degrees. That’s right 18 days! Those of you who have endured Baltimore/DC summers know just how rare a streak that is in late July and early August. This past week has brought rain, thunder, and more rain…but it was the week prior which had the most surprising weather. I walked out the front door one morning and was met by an unfamiliar feeling: cold. Not cold enough to go back in and change…but chilly compared to the warm, humid mornings I’d become accustomed to. The breeze in the air and the need for a light sweater had me suddenly overexcited for what I affectionately refer to the most wonderful time of the year: fall. The best things happen in fall: a new school year, crisp mornings, jeans and cozy sweaters, crunchy leaves, corn mazes, apple-picking, candy corn, and of course: all things pu...

Today begins what I affectionately refer to as the August Rush. (Not to be confused with the movie of the same name. Good movie, GREAT music score) To me the August Rush refers to those crazy few weeks in which school suddenly seems close enough that I have to entertain (not dwell on, just entertain) the thought of coming up with ideas, plans, and bulletin boards for the coming year but also far enough away that I want to squeeze every last drop of sun, fun, and friends as I can during these waning summer days. I’m deep in the heart of that right now…I had to close my planner yesterday because just looking at it made my head spin. So as I embark on 3 weeks of “last-drops-of-summer-break” squeezing, I must forewarn you that will probably mean less frequent posts. Then again, you never know. Sometimes exciting things happen that just need to be shared. One such event unfolded this past week. Get excited. It seems hard to believe but it was only 3 years ago that I was finally intro...