Last Friday, Jamie and I had a wonderful week in Colorado at
ÜberConf. The week was full of good conversation, laughter, and an opportunity
to meet some pretty amazing individuals. Among those individuals was a speaker
and developer named Venkat Subramaniam. Venkat has bit of a legendary status in
the conference space, and spends a large amount of time teaching and sharing at
conferences, and also keeps a blog here for folks interested in learning more
from him, a great place to start is his blog, “AgileDeveloper”.
What made the end of this week especially sweet was that
Venkat invited a number of the presenters along with Jamie and myself into his
home. Venkat had invited us for the last three years, but this was the first
time we were able to accept his offer of hospitality. Not only did we have an
amazing time connecting with many of the No Fluff Just Stuff speakers, many of
which have become good friends of ours over the years. But we also had the
privilege of meeting Venkat’s parents as well.
In my experience, one of the kindest gestures of care and
welcome from a person is an invitation into one’s home. Venkat and his family
made me and Jamie feel like family. We felt a very welcome part of this
gathering of software developers in spite of the fact that we know very little
about the space (particularly when in the presence of some of the top
speakers/consultants/writers on the subject).
Venkat’s family had prepared a wide array of Indian food
(including dessert), and they ensured that no one would leave their home
hungry. Words can not fully express the depth of my gratitude to Venkat and his
family for opening their home and sharing a meal with me and Jamie.
And this gesture has not been unique to Venkat. Jamie and I
have had the privilege of sharing
our home with many friends and family members, and we have also been
frequent beneficiaries of the hospitality of others during our travels.
There is something truly special about sharing a meal with
friends in a home and this kind of hospitality is quickly becoming a lost art.
May we all take time to break bread in the homes of our friends, and may we
have an open door and invitation to friends near and far as we exercise the
practice of hospitality in a world that often seems to busy to slow down for
this kind of camaraderie.
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