Emma's Memorial
I hadn't planned on it. It just kind of happened. And it couldn't have been better if I'd carefully designed it from the beginning. The space above the TV in the entertainment center was just spare space; I'd no plans on or idea how to utilize it. As it happens, the shelf was the perfect size for DVD boxes, but I didn't like the idea of having that sort of visual clutter front and center; besides, I'd already built shelves for my DVD albums. So it remained empty.
I did have a number of nice candle holders I'd bought some years ago, and tucked them away on that shelf to keep them safe. Then one day I retrieved the ashes of one of my cats from the camper so I could move her into a new box I'd just bought—exactly the thing I'd been looking for over the last few years: the right size, beautiful dark wood, and a tree of life hand-carved in the top.
With no conscious thought given to the action, I placed the box on the shelf along with the candle holders. And thus, in an unplanned instant, the shelf not only had a purpose, but the perfect thing to occupy it: Emma.