Happy Birthday Gilena!

Today is a very special post for me, it is the birthday of one of my best friends, Gilena. She and her husband, were two of my earliest clients, almost 10 years ago, and since then they have come to mean a lot to me. But does that justify a posting? Probably not, the reason why I wanted to post for her birthday, is because she is the one who has almost single handedly taught me about how design can create meaning in peoples lives.

It's an interesting story, both her and Gary were married to other people, tragically, they both passed suddenly and they met in a bereavement support group called "Our House". After dating a while they decided to get married and build a new home together. That is the home I designed with them.

For them, the house became a way to honor the memories of their previous spouses, as well as a symbol of their new life together. This idea of a home being a symbol like this really brought home to me a whole new way of looking at what I do.

Gilena, went on to write a book about the experience, she posts it on her blog bit by bit, and is really an inspiring story, if you get a chance you should check it out www.alifeimagined.com .

So anyway, happy birthday to my friend, and thank you for opening my eyes to the possibilities of my vocation.