Episode 3: Stairway to Family

Ryan pulled his Texas-sized truck up to the front of the house, and Mallory climbed out.  The truck was so big, and she’s so small, she had to hop a little to scoot out.

Unlike Trinity moving in, Mallory’s arrival was planned.  It wasn’t planned very deeply or for a very long time—we talked about it about two weeks before she came. 

Like thousands of people around the country, Mallory had just graduated high school (in Texas), surrounded by people she’d grown up to love and know.  It was almost like she looked around at her graduation party, sized up the familiar people—friends and family and friends as family—and she took the first opportunity to find an adventure.  After throwing out ideas for where she could go, Ryan (my cousin) asked me if Mallory could stay with us. 

Years ago, we’d made the clear and consistent offer: they were welcome, any time.  So, Mallory began her adventure by moving her furniture up the narrow steps to our second floor, into the nicest bedroom in the house:  Emma’s room.

Where did Emma go? To Jonah’s room, along with Trinity.

Where did Jonah go? Downstairs into the office. 

Where did the office move?  My bedroom.

We played a house-sized version of TETRIS.

I don’t know how many times we went up and down the stairs. 

Her bed. 

Mattress.

Clothing.

And those stairs. 

The girls sleep upstairs.

Jonah sleeps downstairs. 

You know, where Mallory grew up in Texas, not many of those ranch homes had stairs.  Not like the homes in Virginia.

Maybe that’s why the stairs seem, well, too difficult. Foreign. Dangerous. I could blame it on her lack of experience, but there’s a genetic component to all this, too.