Walk a Mile

I really enjoy the game of soccer. Watching on TV is okay, but I really love being in a small high school stadium watching a talented team of kids. Jean and I used to watch the local high school team play all the time. We liked to sit near the top of the stands so we could easily take in the whole field and the flow of the game. I don’t know why we stopped going; either too old or too lazy to make the trip I suppose.

During these games I’d get wrapped up in the action on the field and would, well, to put it politely, get a bit too verbally involved. After an errant play I might say a bit too loudly, “Get the ball down!” or “At least put it between the posts!”

There was this one game where I was particularly engaged in the action on the field and allowed my frustrations to percolate out my mouth even more than normal. Eventually the grandfatherly gentleman sitting next to me smiled and leaned over to say, “It looks easy from up here, doesn’t it?”

I had to laugh to cover my embarrassment, but I immediately realized he was so right. He was essentially stating the old adage, “Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes.” I knew I couldn’t do any better, so who was I to criticize?  I was silent for the remainder of that game, and have attempted, with modest success, to muzzle myself ever since.

As I approach retirement I am constantly reminded of this grandfather's comment at the soccer game. I know that as my final workday approaches that there will be colleagues who will review my career, or what little portion they are familiar with, and make some assessment of my abilities, successes and failures over the years. I wish that soccer grandfather could be present in such moments, and say in my defense, “It looks easy, doesn’t it?”