Since our sweet, beautiful greyhound Joey passed away last year, certain places in our home have been very loud reminders that he is gone. The place in the kitchen where his food & water dishes stood, the places upstairs & down where his beds lay. It took rearranging the furniture to make these areas less glaring, less talkative to me. I am certainly not trying to remove his memory from this home, and cannot from our hearts.
Sometimes a void needs new life, that's all. The small wall area by the back door and kitchen windows was such a place. Walking by the empty space where his leash & collar hung always left me sad. I stared at it on a Saturday morning and decided to change the conversation. Vintage acorn hooks from a can in the basement (years ago found at a flea market) were perfect. One for each boy. Just right with the bead-board. And they're learning to hang their own coats.
Now this space is happier, livelier. It's a place where we mark how much our babies are growing up. It still reminds me of our sweet boy Joey, but now it makes me happy - not sad.