Mallory’s birthday this year came and went, for me, in a flash. A slow-moving, dragging out all day, must get a ton of stuff moved to my new house flash. If that’s how flashes work. She celebrated it with friends who came to visit from St. Louis and, while I called her early enough in the day, I didn’t really get to spend much time with her until she dropped by the new house to see it for the first time. It was kind of a “Hey, Happy Birthday, kid! Momma bought a new house! One you can’t live in! Thanks for coming out of the birth canal all squishy and cute, though!”

Being the tornado that she is, Mallory stepped into her role as interior designer and finally I got to take advantage of her college degree. She whipped everyone into action including my sister and two nephews who came to help. “Put this here.” and “Books can go there, but where are the boxes of pictures?” and “Why haven’t you painted this and put on knobs like you know you should, Mom? That would be cute!” At the very least, my living room and kitchen are livable at this point. She knows, after living with me her entire life, that when my home is a crazy mess then my head is a crazy mess. No one wants any of this crazy mess I tell you.

She walked through the house nodding her approval of paint colors and checked the light switches and checking the space between the kitchen island and the refrigerator. All passed muster. This is what she’s always done, really. In fact, in the house she spent most of her time growing up in, she managed to convince her brothers that they should all switch rooms at one time or another. Mallory is one to scope out a situation, scanning and surveying properly, and then swooping in to get shit done. She, more than any of the other kids, remembers our first apartment when I went away to college (and lived in the married housing section) and what a little roach box that was. One bedroom and the world’s tiniest appliance kitchen. Luckily, the refrigerator there was just her height (I could see over the top of it easily and put in a shelf to make the most of the space) and she could reach the milk to get herself cereal in the morning if I was still sleeping. One morning, when she was about 3, she let me sleep in and when I woke up I noticed a clean bowl and spoon in the sink.

Me: Mallory? Did you clean your dishes? Is this from your cereal this morning?

Mallory: No, I just had cereal. I didn’t clean.

Me: Then why is this bowl so spotless?

Mallory: I dunno.

Later, I learned that she hadn’t gotten the milk out to use with her cereal but instead grabbed a carton of heavy cream. Apparently, she liked it because she licked that sucker spotless. I laughed and laughed until my side ached from thinking about how my little girl must have devoured that creamy, rich cereal that morning.

In that tiny little box of an apartment we had to share everything. We slept together for the first few years of her life so that now, even at 24, she is comfortable jumping under the covers with me and chit-chatting until it’s time for her to go.

And it is. Time for her to go. She bought her first house along with her longtime boyfriend, Kolin, and they are managing to create a lovely, creative home that is open and inviting to their friends and family. Today, in fact, is her brother Mason’s graduation and she is hosting the party for him. It will be a fun-filled day I’m sure. We’ve come a long way since then and I’m more proud of her than I can adequately express. Even trying to list the things that make her incredible is daunting so I will leave this belated birthday post for Mallory with a picture I stole from her friend, Claire. I saw it on Facebook yesterday and realized that it summed her up, complete with the very incredible friends she’s made over her lifetime.

I think maybe they were on a fishing expedition and I can only imagine the great night they must have had to go outside in a kiddy pool and pretend to cross the sea. It doesn’t really matter. Mallory has managed to grow into a person I’m proud to know let alone raised. Her magic touch in life is a stunning entity to behold and the people she keeps in her life are no less amazing.

Devin, Paul, Tiffany, May, Marianne, Claire, and Mallory. Having a good time in college and NOT even being drunk when they do it.