I actually have learned a great deal about myself and about life from officiating. In the past three seasons I have discovered an interesting thing... Lifesaver candies can solve almost any crisis. They can make friends from enemies, they can quiet a storm and they have a unique ability to make people smile.
WOW! That is a lot of stuff for one piece of wintergreen candy, but here is how it works. As I am dressing for the game I grab a handful of individually wrapped Wintergreen Lifesavers candies and place them in my right pocket. When the situation arises, I simply produce a piece of the candy from that pocket and most times the situation changes. Here are two examples:
- A few nights ago, I was officiating Seventh Grade football. The Coach was screaming like he was in the NFL all night as his players continued to make mistake after mistake. At one point he wandered onto the field and I ran into him while doing my job - Flag. He was furious and tried twice to take it out on me verbally. I attempted to talk him down from the ledge but nothing was saving him from his intent to jump…. until I produced one little candy in my hand - down low so he would have to look at it! Bam his face lit up with a smile as he grabbed the candy like a little kid. He was suddenly laughing and smiling and said that was the best thing anyone had done for him all day.
- A few weeks ago I had the privilege to call a College Football Game in Louisiana. One of the things that make officiating work is great Ball Boys. At this particular game these kids were less than stellar. So I was having to spend a great deal of energy managing their performance so I could do my job. Somewhere in the second quarter I had an idea, when one of them got me a ball quickly - I handed him a Wintergreen Lifesaver…. He lit up. I told him thanks for being so attentive. By the time we got to halftime the Ball Boys on my sideline were competing to get me the ball as fast as possible and I kept rewarding them…… Needless to say I handed out a pocketful of the candies and my Ball Boys were almost wrestling to be the one that got me the ball.
So my Life Lesson - It seems to be the small little gestures that show you really do care about others that makes the biggest difference in relationships…. After all, a Super Jumbo bag of Lifesavers is about $7 at Target. A small price to pay to demonstrate love in a practical sense. And it sure seems like people are just waiting for someone to show up and love them where they are…….
WOW! That is a lot of stuff for one piece of wintergreen candy, but here is how it works. As I am dressing for the game I grab a handful of individually wrapped Wintergreen Lifesavers candies and place them in my right pocket. When the situation arises, I simply produce a piece of the candy from that pocket and most times the situation changes. Here are two examples:
- A few nights ago, I was officiating Seventh Grade football. The Coach was screaming like he was in the NFL all night as his players continued to make mistake after mistake. At one point he wandered onto the field and I ran into him while doing my job - Flag. He was furious and tried twice to take it out on me verbally. I attempted to talk him down from the ledge but nothing was saving him from his intent to jump…. until I produced one little candy in my hand - down low so he would have to look at it! Bam his face lit up with a smile as he grabbed the candy like a little kid. He was suddenly laughing and smiling and said that was the best thing anyone had done for him all day.
- A few weeks ago I had the privilege to call a College Football Game in Louisiana. One of the things that make officiating work is great Ball Boys. At this particular game these kids were less than stellar. So I was having to spend a great deal of energy managing their performance so I could do my job. Somewhere in the second quarter I had an idea, when one of them got me a ball quickly - I handed him a Wintergreen Lifesaver…. He lit up. I told him thanks for being so attentive. By the time we got to halftime the Ball Boys on my sideline were competing to get me the ball as fast as possible and I kept rewarding them…… Needless to say I handed out a pocketful of the candies and my Ball Boys were almost wrestling to be the one that got me the ball.
So my Life Lesson - It seems to be the small little gestures that show you really do care about others that makes the biggest difference in relationships…. After all, a Super Jumbo bag of Lifesavers is about $7 at Target. A small price to pay to demonstrate love in a practical sense. And it sure seems like people are just waiting for someone to show up and love them where they are…….
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