Why We Do This Year After Year

A Rubino Christmas 1997

This display is in honor of Rodney Rubino; a loving father, husband, coach, and good friend to many. From a sons standpoint, he was the perfect man we should all aspire to be.  He was a father who taught his son's how to be respectful, honest, and caring.  He was a husband who lived his entire life knowing that he was the luckiest man alive because he had the woman of his dreams. He was a coach that inspired you to perform at your best without the fear of failure.  And he was the friend who could brighten up the room with just his smile, always finding a way to make you laugh.  

 

On November 22, 2004 we lost an integral piece of the family that left us with a whole in our lives.  Rodney Rubino died of a unexpected heart attack just three days before Thanksgiving. Our family was both shocked and devastated. Not only did the holidays hurt that year, but our house was without Chritsmas lights for the first time ever.  The thought of hanging up strands of lights without him didn't feel right that year.  

 

Growing up our fondest memories are setting up the Christmas lights with our parents. Whether it was climbing on the roof with our dad, helping our mom set up the lawn display, or being taught how to link up the extension cords without blowing every fuse in the house, we were always eager to learn from them and happy to be able to spend time with them.  

 

After a couple years of a house without Christmas lights, we decided to light up the Christmas air again with a display that could honor our father during a time of year that once held so much tragedy.  We thought of no better way to honor him than by dedicating a Christmas light display to him.  One that brings so many smiles to the faces of others, just like he used to do simply by walking into the room.   As the years have passed we have tried to add to our display and improve it every year just like our dad used to do.

 

Most importantly, we hope to bring joy through our display to the lives of people who may be feeling the same pain that we felt in 2004. Even when times are tough everyone should have a little joy during Christmas time, and we hope that we can bring that to you!