Roof Stomp?

[meltoine]

Ever been to one?

We're supposed to go to one tonight but it just sounds like such a horrible idea. The family are friends of ours with a kid the same age as DS1 and the damn thing starts right at bedtime. I really want to call and warn them because I'd be so, so super pissed if anyone ever did this to us. 

[amaristella]

I hesitate to ask, is the name of the event also descriptive?

[meltoine]

Mar 7, 2014 17:49:17 GMT -5 amaristella said:

I hesitate to ask, is the name of the event also descriptive?

Yes. Apparently so. Those who do not get on the roof are encouraged to bang on the windows and doors. 

[amaristella]

OMG call them. That shit is way uncool. I don't care if it's family and friends. It's not okay. (And it's dangerous! Hello!)

[craftyesq]

What is this event supposed to celebrate? Or is it some sort of punishment?

This is so weird. How would they convince multiple people to join in?

This is a thing?

[craftyesq]

Sorry I thought I was on married life! If this is some kind of military custom excuse my ignorance.

I'd still be annoyed though

[panicked]

A roof stomp is a tradition in the United States Air Force where servicemembers mount the roof of the home of a colonel or higher-ranking officer and stomp on the roof. The event is typically planned, and not a surprise for the resident, who may open his home to the participants after the event. Unplanned roof stomps have long been recognized to be far superior to their planned cousins. The unplanned roof stomp is also a higher honor than a planned roof stomp. Officers should always have beer on hand in the event they are roof stomped. It is an "informal celebration recognizing a new commander, a retirement or other special event."[1] This tradition has evolved into another version of the roof stomp, the "porch stomp".[2]

According to Greg Tims,

Traditionally, a roof stomp is where you greet a new commander or celebrate some sort of special occasion by climbing up on the commander's roof and begin to make a LOT of noise while others are outside banging on the windows and doors. When he or she opens the door, the commander invites the group in for food and drink.[3]

[craftyesq]

Aww that sounds kind of special. I bet he and his family will kind of suspect it's coming and be excited.

I knew I must have been on the wrong board because it just sounded like some sort of botched burglary. Clearly I know nothing about the Air Force

Don't tip your friend off!!

[JakJak]

Omg. Definitely call, I'd be so pissed if my kids got woken up like that.

[amaristella]

I could see doing the porch stomp version but not the roof stomp version. I don't care if it's a tradition. If it's dangerous as well as likely to disrupt parenting routines better judgement needs to be used.

[meltoine]

We just got back. It was a surprise to the guy, but someone had told his wife, so she was ready. Thank God. I would seriously hate if this happened to us and we had no idea. What a bizarre thing.

[meltoine]

Mar 7, 2014 22:32:20 GMT -5 @ojo said:

Mar 7, 2014 22:22:29 GMT -5 meltoine said:

We just got back. It was a surprise to the guy, but someone had told his wife, so she was ready. Thank God. I would seriously hate if this happened to us and we had no idea. What a bizarre thing.

That's a relief that the wife knew and was able to keep it a surprise for her husband. I'd have been pissed. By Friday of any given week my house is not tidy enough to have random people banging on my windows and wanting to come in for beer.

Seriously. She's an O-5 too, so it's not like she's got nothing else going on in her life that she can just be prepared for this craziness all the time. She was decidedly good humored about it. I was impressed. 

[NomadicMama]

It sounds like it's an honor to get "stomped" and that the wife handled it quite well!

As a dual family, especially O-5s, I hope to heavens that they've got a cleaning service for their home! When I go back to work, that will be a non-negotiable (unless we really, really don't have the money in the budget, but we should!).

[amaristella]

Mar 8, 2014 5:47:00 GMT -5 NomadicMama said:

It sounds like it's an honor to get "stomped" and that the wife handled it quite well!

As a dual family, especially O-5s, I hope to heavens that they've got a cleaning service for their home! When I go back to work, that will be a non-negotiable (unless we really, really don't have the money in the budget, but we should!).

I'm starting to think a cleaning service wouldn't be a bad idea. I can hardly get the basics done and someday DS is going to learn to crawl and there is already no end to how filthy our floors are. Like, if I took pictures right now you guys would be appalled.

[amaristella]

Mar 8, 2014 21:24:14 GMT -5 @ojo said:

Mar 8, 2014 17:09:40 GMT -5 amaristella said:

I'm starting to think a cleaning service wouldn't be a bad idea. I can hardly get the basics done and someday DS is going to learn to crawl and there is already no end to how filthy our floors are. Like, if I took pictures right now you guys would be appalled.

No we wouldn't. The closest my floor has been to a mop in many weeks was a wet swiffer this morning. I have three dogs. That's not a sustainable method of cleaning. My kids were strapped into their stroller in my kitchen while I swiffered because I'd already pulled one kid off my desk twice and off the kitchen counter once and the other one turned off the oven twice while lunch was cooking. Their little stroller game was the best toddler creativity I've ever witnessed.

I'm guilty of having figured out that I can use the stroller in the house this week. There are some chores I simply cannot use the carrier for and baby needs to be entertained....plus I'm preparing for my solo adventures when DH needs to go away for classes. I'm trying to figure out the best way to bathe myself while DH is away.

[VillainV]

Mar 7, 2014 22:22:29 GMT -5 meltoine said:

We just got back. It was a surprise to the guy, but someone had told his wife, so she was ready. Thank God. I would seriously hate if this happened to us and we had no idea. What a bizarre thing.

This is typical.  

I've done a handful of these.  It's definitely a tradition in flying squadrons, and is usually just the officers in the squadron (so in a flying squadron, maybe 20-30 people).  Usually one of the unit members will consult with the the commander's spouse to find a good time, and generally the commander will know (or suspect) anyway.  Otherwise, you'd catch people in their bathrobe at bedtime, with no beer in their house, no food, not ready to entertain.  

Also?  Commander's usually have really high roofs, so "roof-stomps" rarely involve actually getting on the roof these days :-)  But it is kind of an "unannounced visit" from the squadron, that everyone knows about anyway.  It's just tradition :-)

[audette]

Mar 8, 2014 17:09:40 GMT -5 amaristella said:

Mar 8, 2014 5:47:00 GMT -5 NomadicMama said:

It sounds like it's an honor to get "stomped" and that the wife handled it quite well!

As a dual family, especially O-5s, I hope to heavens that they've got a cleaning service for their home! When I go back to work, that will be a non-negotiable (unless we really, really don't have the money in the budget, but we should!).

I'm starting to think a cleaning service wouldn't be a bad idea. I can hardly get the basics done and someday DS is going to learn to crawl and there is already no end to how filthy our floors are. Like, if I took pictures right now you guys would be appalled.

We have had a cleaning service for the last 2-3 years. Best money ever spent.

Neither of us like cleaning, and put it off way longer than we should. Hiring someone else to take care of it means we don't argue about it, and we also don't end up in a situation where one of us hits our limit on filth while the other one was hoping to relax that day, and then the person thinking they'd get to relax gets all resentful because the spouse that hit their limit first is "making" them clean.  It wasn't always the same one of us that hit our limit first, either.

Now we spend a half hour or so scrambling around our place the night before the cleaning lady comes to tidy up and make it more efficient for her to clean, and she does everything else.  It's awesome!  She even takes out all our recycling and compost here (apartment living, so it's not a simple pop out into the garage kind of thing).

[meltoine]

We had a maid in Egypt. She did everything. It was awesome. She even did our dishes and laundry. Totally glorious. I miss her a lot LOL