We were at a hibachi restaurant, celebrating my oldest daughter’s twelfth birthday. Eleven of us sat, taking up nearly an entire hibachi table, Wren happily surrounded by her sisters, cousins, and family. I sat across from her, soaking in her joy. It had been a good day. I was just happy she was happy.

As we all sat, entranced by the cooking happening in front of us, the clicking knives and flashes of flames, I suddenly felt arms around my neck. I turned my head, only to find my nose in Wren’s hair. I inhaled a waft of the sweet perfume she just started wearing.

“Are you crying?” I joked, trying to shift so I could see her face.

“Stop,” she whispered as I heard her sniffle. I wrapped my arms around her, matching her embrace.

I held her for a second before asking, “What happened?” confusion tainting my question. Weren’t we all just having a grand old time?

Wren choked back a few sobs before getting out, “I don’t want to grow up.” I squeezed her tighter, thinking of the mascara-coated eyelashes and streaks of blush she had carefully applied that morning.

And suddenly, it was just the two of us, the chatter of the busy restaurant seeming to pause around us.

“You don’t have to grow up,” I whispered into her ear as I rubbed her back, not unlike how I caressed a burp out of her as a baby.

“But I don’t want to go to middle school,” she continued.

I again squeezed her tighter, wanting to crumple into tears myself, to tell her that I don’t want her to grow up either. But I drew in a deep breath and reassured her that we would approach middle school just like everything else, together. I told her she was strong and ready and that feeling nervous was normal.

In that moment, we held each other up before I encouraged Wren to enjoy this moment. “We can worry about middle school tomorrow.”

She took a few more deep breaths, calming her body before loosening her hold on my neck and pulling back enough so that I could finally see her face.

I wiped her tears and pulled her back in for one more hug before she gave me a small smile and returned to her seat, ready to continue celebrating her birthday.

I tend to come back to this quote every year, around Wren’s birthday. In so many ways, I am growing up right alongside her and for that, I am grateful.