Release Candidate: Walking
On repeat, my son grunts as he gets himself into standing position, gives a little giggle of pride, lets go, and then seconds later, crashes down. Then he gives a big chunky cheeks grin.
We are days away from the walking module being released. Every day, he’s standing just a bit longer. He’ll hold on tight to my hand. But I’m not holding him up as we stroll through the house. He’s ready to go.
A release candidate is a version that’s theoretically ready to ship — all the features are in, testing is done, it’s cleared every gate, and it’s just waiting for deployment. He’s waiting on the final approval. His own user acceptance. Finally letting go of my finger.
The moments before a big release are exciting and anxious at the same time. You test, plan, think of all the edge cases, and in the end, pray it goes well.
Five months of this newsletter has been me grunting my way up the side of the crib, standing for a few seconds, crashing down, grinning. The inner critic pokes holes in all the ways it could go wrong. The dreamer keeps getting back up anyway.
I want to be a writer. But that’s in a suspended state — no longer in development but not yet deployed. I can say I’m a writer because I write. My son can walk—while holding onto something. But it’s the difference that leap of faith takes. Letting go.
At some point you stop testing and ship. Production gives you the truth.
Like my son, one day soon, that first step will happen.
And then all at once, you’re running.
Bug Reports Tuesdays | Essays Saturdays
Subscribe to never miss an issue.