Robyn Barberry laments the loss of a venerable toy store chain.

It all started Saturday morning as Daniel and I were driving to his First Communion Workshop.

It’s not St. Patrick’s Day until I’ve filled the house with the smell of freshly baked Irish soda bread, full of that distinctive caraway seed flavor and the soft raisins. Yum.

The era of “blue laws” restricted most business operations on Sunday. In the city, that meant Major League Baseball and National Football League games could not start before 2:05 p.m.

We haven’t had professional photos taken of the boys in almost four years, so I scheduled a shoot last week, got them all dressed up, went to the mall, and they posed for the camera.

In a split second, the place that we called home could have become one in a list of many: Sandy Hook, Oklahoma City, Columbine, the World Trade Center, the Boston Marathon and now Parkland. It only takes one person with malicious intent to uproot and destroy lives.

I stopped at the grocery store, bought way too much food so she’d have enough for a few days’ worth of lunches, and headed to her house.

Our children love playing cards. I try to carry a deck of cards with me wherever I go, and they have saved me many times.

Last weekend we went to a baby shower for friends who are expecting a baby girl. I was supposed to write down a piece of advice for the parents-to-be, and I could not think of a single thing to say.

I’ve never been to the Emerald Isle. But throughout my childhood, my mother made sure my siblings and I knew we were Irish.