Christmas time is here. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. At this time of the year, I inevitably think back to Christmases from years past that I spent in the Northside of Pittsburgh. I can distinctly recall looking out the window of my childhood home on Perrysville Avenue hoping to see that it had snowed during the night. Alas, most of the time I did not get my wish for a white Christmas.

I recall playing Christmas carols on the clarinet at Riverview Presbyterian Church in a woodwind quartet. I remember lighting candles going up and down Perrysville Avenue in preparation for the same Candlelight service on Christmas Eve. Around Christmas season, I would also hope for success on the gridiron by the Steelers. Those Christmas wishes, like my wish for a white Christmas, went unfulfilled as I was rooting for teams quarterbacked by Mark Malone and Bubby Brister.

My Christmas wishes have changed as I have aged. I no longer have visions of sugar plums dancing in my head while I hanker for gifts from Santa Claus. As much fun as it was, I no longer play “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” on the record player over and over. Instead, I try to focus on being a better person and to make sure that Christmas is wonderful for my family which includes my wonderful wife, Emily, daughter Gabriella, and son Derek. In short, it is with the utmost love and affection that I share photo of our children along with our warmest wishes that the entire Northside have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.