Lessons in Life from Tic Tac Toss

Recently I helped at the elementary school carnival because a friend from church was in charge of her daughter's elementary school carnival, and I wanted to support my friend in her endeavor.

My friend assigned me to be at the "tic tac toss" game which is just like tic tac toe with bean bags. The object of the game is that the children had to toss three bean bags in a row, either across, up/down, or diagonal! If the child got "three in a row" then they got a fake dollar that they could redeem for prizes.

The tic tac toe grid, oulined on the floor with masking tape, was quite huge! I would guess that each square was about 18 square inches. There were three lines for the children- one close to the grid for the smallest childen, then a medium line and one line further away for the oldest/tallest kids.

The children were friendly, and a bonus was that it was nice to see several of the familes from church.

But what stunned me was that so many of the children did not seem to wish to challenge themselves in terms of their bean bag tossing! So many children tossed the bean bags to the closest horizonal row, thus essentially assurring themselves of an "easy dollar". Very few kids aimed diagonally or at the furthest row. Some kids actually told me (or I overheard them) saying that they liked this game because it was easy and that they knew they'd get one of the fake dollars.

There was one boy and his friend who came back and I told them they had to make it more challenging- so I suggested they close their eyes to toss - and they did! And when they came back, they did it backwards. Then later I overheard one of the boys telling someone that I made it harder for him! Yeah! There were a couple people who challenged themselves by tossing from a few feet BEYOND the furthest masking tape line. Kudos to those folks!

Another interesting experience, at the end of the night, as I was cleaning up, one girl came up to me and simply asked for the fake dollars! She told me she had been late to the carnival, and so so hadn't had a chance to get many fake dollars. Too bad for her! In actuality, I suggested that she help me clean up a bit and then I would give her some. She complied by helping me pick up some of the beans that had fallen out of the homemade bean bags! The beans blended into the floor design at the school, and she was a good help and earned her 4 dollars!

Perhaps I should have been a more demanding game hostess. While I think I met my lifetime quota of helping in a tic tac toe toss (thank goodness no nightmares and the mild soreness from 2 hours of bending up and down to retrieve bean bags only lasted a couple days), IF I ever do this again, I will definitely demand more challenge from all the contestants!

The following Monday, I told one of my coworkers about the tic tac toe toss experience, he is a former Marine and works extremely diligently in many areas of his life, from his family to his work to his personal pursuits. I thought he'd concur with my perspective. Rather he just kind of laughed and told me the kids were smart and that their taking the easy way was "strategy"! I see his point! But still- the kids will have to work hard in life!

On a serious note, I am sure they work hard in their school work, activities, family life,etc. So I respect my coworkers perspective of the kids just demonstrating good strategy! And in full disclosure, there were a few instances where I felt bad the kids missed and so I sort of rationalized that they got 3 in a row when they really didn't. And there were a couple kids that knew I was aiding them.

But the biggest lesson was one that was somewhat deeply personal. The day of the tic tac toe toss was also the first time I'd gone to the Temple in quite awhile. The Temple experience was a reminder for me of how much is expected of me to faithfully try do in life to do what Heavenly Father expects of me. I've been struggling feeling like I'm trying my best to do a good job in life, yet not doing so well in some areas. So the Temple experience mingled with the Tic Tac Toss experience made me contemplate a little of how hard life is and a reminder of the importance of doing things properly and to do so in a way pleasing to Heavenly Father.

These kids are going to have to work hard in life- somuch is expected of today's kids. All of us must work hard in life, in family stuff, in work, in social relaionships. Things do not nor should they come too easy! (unless of course you are a child seeking to enjoy a fun-filled school carnival on Friday night!)

I feel like I've tried, been squeezed, challenged, crushed. I feel like Heavenly Father is demanding a lot of me, and I want to do my best in all areas! Yet while I am very aware of my blessings, and while I don't wish to sound like a whiner, it sometimes hurts deeply to be this age and still single. No "prize" of a loving spouse despite sometimes feeling I've "worked hard"! Oh well!

Anyway, enough rambling about the Tic Tac Toss! But I am grateful that the experience helped me remember the importance of doing better at challenging myself and not minding as much when Heavenly Father tests me and challenges me. Due to challenges inherent in life, life is not always easy,  and that is a good thing!