Column: We all have our traditions

I, like many of my peers, made the journey home for Thanksgiving. I packed up all my books, piled all my laundry in my car, stopped at Dutch Bros for a little wake’er upper and was on my way to a wonderful weekend of spending time with the family. Or so I thought.

Upon arrival at my parents abode I was informed that my father had procured a hydraulic wood splitter. Many would say something like “Oh that’s fine, that’s the easy way to do it”; however, many do not know the current condition of my parents’ back yard. The back forty, so to speak, resembles something like a lumber yard, an obstacle course and a firewood manufacturing facility all jumbled into one. A wood burning stove providing 90 percent of the heat for the house during the winter has turned my dad into a wood-collecting fanatic who has managed to obtain a plethora of pretty much every type of burnable material available in the greater Palouse region.

Anyway, as you may have imagined, instead of lots of time visiting with family and sleeping in until 11 a.m., I spent much of the weekend with my dad and brother operating the splitter. This wasn’t all bad: during our wood splitting frenzy I got to drive a $5,000 4-wheeler that we borrowed from a family friend to help maneuver the splitter. To me, this was similar to the enjoyment one may get from test-driving a new Ferrari. To put this in a better light, the 4-wheeler costs exactly 8-times as much as my car, and drives better in most respects.

My family’s Thanksgiving dinner is a classic gathering at my grandparents’ house with turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy plus a rich assortment of other home cooked goodies. We all bring something to add to the table. I think for most everyone Thanksgiving is a time for family to enjoy each other’s company, and most of all, enjoy each other’s food.

Many households have holiday traditions. One of ours is to watch the annual Thanksgiving showing of Pumpkin Chunkin, possibly the most awesome redneck sport ever invented. It involves catapults, trebuchets, massive air cannons and other devices built with the simple purpose of launching a pumpkin as far as physically possible. The show is hosted by the Mythbusters team. Other traditions include Scrabble, talking, and copious amounts of pie eating.

The remainder of the holiday I spent attempting to catch up with homework that I have been less than on top of for the last month or so. As I write this I sit on my bed, my eyes propped open with toothpicks, as I have been for the last several hours. It’s approaching 2 a.m. and I have an art project to finish and a speech to write. This night may require another pot of coffee.

I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving and enjoyed their breaks to the fullest. Now all we have to do is make it through another month and then we are free again for Christmas. Bring on the snow!

Opinions expressed in editorial and opinion articles are the views of individual NIC students. These views do not necessarily  reflect the opinions of the Sentinel, North Idaho College, or any other organizations or groups there-in. North Idaho College is not responsible for the accuracy of statements or opinions shared.