Verification Vertigo

I have just returned from England, where I helped my parents celebrate their 60^th wedding anniversary – an event where even the Queen sends them a congratulatory card.

Just a little under a year ago, I helped them move from the house they had lived in for 50 years, the one in which I had gown up, into a retirement community half way across the country. They have both survived significant medical problems including cancer and diabetes and now at 86, they are fully enjoying life. Apart from wanting to write about my parents, I think it also leaves some lessons to us. They are not the same people they were when they first met. They have seen war, and many changes – including me – God bless them. During that time, they have learned what works and what doesn’t, but perhaps more than anything else they have adapted and changed.

Functional verification is still a baby in comparison, and I am not sure it has seen quite the same disturbances that one can expect in life. Still, there have been some large discontinuities and these are often the times when the real leaders distinguish themselves from the rest. They are the ones who are not scared to face the change, to take on the new challenges. I admit there have been times when I have wanted to continue on the safe path, even though deep down I know it is wrong, but I am glad that at the end of the day, I think I have usually done the right thing. I take courage and pride in my parents for making those same choices and I hope they can be an inspiration to all of us to continue to adapt and change.