Enjoying the View from the Roof

Until recently, I didn’t care much for roofs. In fact, I’ve had a hard time over the years even pronouncing the word correctly. My pronunciation is sometimes the correct “say it like it’s spelled” version where the “oo” sounds the same as it does in the word “tooth.” But at other times it comes out sounding like “ruhf” which roughly rhymes with the word “hoof.” To me it makes sense, but recently this pronunciation has caused me to become the object of ridicule. Which doesn’t bother me much since ridicule often accompanies me anyway. While you practice saying the word “roof” several times, debating which version is correct, I will move on. Gutters are attached to roofs and gutters like to clog. It’s a green, slimy, oozy clog if left undisturbed for an entire Spring. So when I visited the roof of our house recently, the green oozy clog welcomed me. I disposed of it but my work wasn’t done. Being the child at heart that I am, I informed my wife that I intended to hide behind one of the dormers on our roof when our youngest child got off the bus. My purpose was to scare him, a plan with which my fun-loving wife did not disagree. Just as the youngest child approached the front porch, I let out a yell which nearly caused me to lose my balance. Not a good idea when you are precariously perched on a roof. The unphased child laughed and asked if he could join me. A few minutes later, as we sat on the apex of the roof, the youngest Stroupe began telling me about his day at school. We could see for miles and eventually, he went silent and we both stared into the distance. “Here comes your oldest brother,” I whispered. “Let’s scare him when he gets out of his truck.” Before we could say anything, the oldest popped the door of his truck open and shouted, “What are you nuts doing up there?” So much for scaring him. He joined us a minute or two later. When Mom arrived home with the middle son in tow, we decided to give it one last try. He was pointing at us before the car ever came to a stop. “I could see you half a mile away,” he laughed. I’m not as good at this “pulling pranks on my kids” stuff as I used to be. But here’s what I now know about roofs. Yes, they cause gutters to clog occasionally. Yes, you can see water towers and other neat stuff from up there. Yes, they are very uncomfortable and flaming hot on your rear end. And of course, the pronunciation of “roof” is debatable, depending upon which state you were raised in. However, a nine-year-old taught me something about roofs I didn’t know until the day we sat on top of one and explored various topics of conversation. Said the child at one point- “Daddy, a roof is a great place to come and sit and talk about school and stuff. Let’s me and you come back up here again sometime.” Sure thing buddy, it’s a date. I’ll clean the slime out of the gutters if you’ll promise to stay nine-years-old for another decade or so.