a life of small tests

i’m enjoying the simple pleasures of life at the moment. taking the kids to swimming lessons this morning, and i just love sitting there watching them flail around and get a grip on what it means to enjoy the water without fear, which for us australians is a pretty important thing!both girls are nervous about passing their grades. they’ve each failed once or twice, and so there’s always this anxiety they have of passing to the next grade and keeping up with their mates, etc. it’s just a swimming grade, but it sure does get them a little stressed, especially towards the end of this week.got me thinking that life, from the earliest points, is a constant series of challenges and tests and shifting of benchmarks. we may try and resist that or deny it, but it’s reality. i remember thinking that when i finished up high school, that was it. no more. then i hit uni. and then i figured after uni that would be it. but then i hit the workforce, where the tests got more serious with more at stake. and it’s never ended.so, i just smile at the kids and tell them to give it their best shot, try hard, do their best, and treat failure as a helpful friend not a depressing back dog… it’s just the start of more of the same… they don’t know it, but i can see it from my perspective in life… just the start of a life of small tests…