what winter was like

There’s something about travel that puts life in a whole other perspective. For me, returning home from a trip almost always becomes a time of self-reflection—stirring thoughts on what’s most important: family, career and friends.

I’m writing this blog from over the Atlantic aboard a flight from Berlin. I spent five hectic days on the road and, although I had the incredible opportunity to see and experience a new part of the world (pics to come), it’s great to get back to the family. Saying goodbye to Melissa and Trevor and heading off to the airport has become too routine for all of us.

So--as we eagerly await a new season to bring sunshine and Cleveland thaws--here’s look back on how the Freed family spent the winter.

We put some work into the basement/family room in early December, carpeting most of the floor but installing wood laminate in what has become Trevor’s playroom. The plan—which seems more long term than I had initially inspired—is to eventually install a bar. Here’s a photo as well as some new artwork we just hung.

Melissa turned 30 in December and we celebrated by touring wine country in Geneva, dining at Horizons at the Lodge at Geneva State Park and staying overnight. It was a really nice day. Later, in early January, we got friends together for dinner at tre belle in Bath.

Christmas was most exciting for Trevor; his infatuation with Thomas the Tank Engine hasn’t wavered. We had immediate family over for dinner in the late morning and early afternoon—Melissa and I cooked mini spinach calzone appetizers and Italian wedding soup. Uncle Andrew helped install a new track set on Christmas Day and it hasn’t come down since. Andrew and Brandie brought Aiden, the newest addition to the family.

On a day off in January, Trevor and I tackled a sled-riding hill for the first time. He was frightened initially but ended up having a blast. Ironically, his favorite part of the day was swinging on the swingset in the snowy weather. Here's a movie from the day:

On the weekend of February 26, Melissa and I traveled to Houston for the Stefanick-Kirkham wedding. We had a blast--it was great to catch up with friends from both Columbiana and Mercyhurst that I hadn't seen in a while. Congrats to Carrie and Jason; their wedding was pretty amazing, the locations could have been out of a wedding magazine. They're both great people and we're lucky to know them. More pics to come from that soon as well.

It’s been a while since I’ve updated Digital Scratch, but I’m rededicated to making it a priority. Major renovation plans for the site are in the works, so stay tuned. Thanks for reading.

Steelers fan in enemy territory

Here it is Super Bowl Sunday and, in three hours, my die-hard favorite team will be battling for its seventh Lombardi Trophy--the most coveted trophy in all of sports. So why am I stuck thinking about Cleveland?

Melissa and I were both working two jobs in Youngstown and struggling to get by when we decided there would be more job opportunities in Cleveland ... and the job boards proved us right. It was a tough pill to swallow. For some odd reason, the local Cleveland channels don't carry Pirates games. I might be the only guy in the office wearing Black and Gold. And God forbid, my kid might grow up to be a Browns fan. I was distraught, and never fully bought into the concept that I would like living near Cleveland.

Not only did we jump closer to Lake Erie, we ended up buying a house in Cleveland city limits. And not only have we settled in, I've fallen in love with the city. I'm proud to live in Cleveland, excited to raise a family here and anxious to be a part of it's revitalization. In Cleveland, there are opportunities, there is plenty of entertainment and the people are blue collar--down to earth and unpretentious.

In fact, Pittsburgh and Cleveland are eerily similar cities. I won't hark on their foundations--how they both were built as shipping imports on great bodies of water, forged in the mills by hardworking laborers--but both cities are in the middle of a transformation from polluted and rusty to clean and unique. Neither will ever be Chicago, New York or L.A., but they'd hate to be. Rather, they'll embrace their size and build on their connectivity.

The animosity between the two cities' sport fans couldn't be greater, yet the cities' franchises couldn't be more similar. Each have their share of winners and losers. Although they never hoisted a championship trophy, the Indians were consistent winners through the 1990s and the Cavs dominated through the LeBron era; the Browns have been embarrassingly bad. In Pittsburgh, the Steelers have enjoyed a run of success lately and the Penguins have hoisted two Stanley Cups in recent years, but the Pirates have been absolutely dismal.

Here's a quote from David Morehouse, the Penguins' president: "If you go back to when all this started, when I was growing up (in Pittsburgh) as a kid in the '70s, the sports were the only good thing happening. You picked up the paper, and it was all bad news. Your neighbors were getting laid off. Steel mills were closing. You couldn't get a job. But these guys were winning championships, and they were doing it by working hard. They were validation that working hard would pay off."

Sound familiar, Cleveland?

Today, it's harder to be a Steelers fan in Cleveland than one might think. I cant wear a jersey to work without feeling somewhat uncomfortable at some point throughout the day. I cant fly my Steelers flag in front of my house without the fear of a drunken Browns fan throwing a rock through my living room window. But these things are to be expected and I respect Browns fans for their loyalty. Having a D-bag for a quarterback in Pittsburgh hasn't made it any easier, but Cleveland shouldn't forget they've rooted for a sleazy Jim Brown, a prima donna Manny Ramirez and the biggest D-bag ever in "The Chosen One." I've come to conclusion that most athletes are egotistical douches and we've just got to deal with it.

As far as championships are concerned, Pittsburgh has been blessed to celebrate a handful in recent years. It's been fun, and as we get closer to kickoff tonight, my stomach is in knots over the prospect of another one. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't rooting for Cleveland to get a trophy soon. Certainly there are bigger things in life than sports, but life would get a lot easier, and this region could all breathe a collective sigh of relief, if Cleveland could bring one home.

It will happen eventually. Once it does, I hope the hatred between the cities' sport fans dies down a bit. After all, it's just sports. Until that day, Here We Go Steelers.