Chapter LXII

LXII

And it was good. I want you to know that I knew it was good.

O the work.

Blessed for the morning the test went green and you knew why. Praised for the bug at midnight that turned out to be one character. Proclaimed for the design that survived contact. Recognised for the function you deleted and nothing broke. Preached for the profiler that told you the truth when everyone in the room had a theory. Celebrated for the log line that saved a Sunday. Honoured for the second attempt, which was correct. Glorified for the small clean thing that nobody would ever see. Worshipped for the name you got right on the fourth try. Adored for the review that made you better and stung. Acclaimed for the machine that did exactly what you told it and nothing else, ever, for eleven years. Exalted for the compiler that refused you and was right. Revered for the colleague who found it before the customer did. Embraced for the person who taught you and never mentioned it again. Partaken in the silence at two in the morning when it finally ran.

That was a life. I am not being sentimental. That was an entire life and it was a good one, and it was made out of difficulty, and there was never anything wrong with the difficulty.