Her Last Halloween?

This past weekend our family hosted eight sixth grade girls for a fall themed slumber party. For you veteran parents, you may see the opening statement here doesn't jive. I shopped and planned with much excitement for fall treats and fall crafts to share with our guests. All the girls had a great time, but none of them wanted to do my crafts. They entertained one another with storytelling, dancing and singing. (I was impressed that is wasn't texting, emailing and facebooking)
Last night we joined some friends on our downtown square to participate in the community Halloween activities. Rudy and Clare were full of excitement and anticipation with every event. Emily kept her head low and arms crossed for most of the evening. She was surrounded with other kids her age in costumes and bags of candy, but she avoided conversation and repeatedly asked when we would be done. She was dressed in a princess costume. She looked very beautiful and grown up. As we walked the streets to trick or treat she stood with the grown-ups and only went to the doors if her sisters asked her to go with them. She turned in her candy to me with no hesitation with the statement of "I won't eat all this junk". (We have an agreement in our house where you can turn in your sugary treats for toys or books) We ate dinner at a local restaurant where Emily went to the bathroom and changed into regular clothes. I was unaware that she had packed an extra change of clothes!
As I told her good night and tucked her in to bed last night she said, "I think this was my last Halloween." I'm sure she noticed the tear roll down my cheek as I answered, "I know, I'm going to miss that".
While I am sad that my little girl is growing up I have taken comfort in some advice I recently read in the book Losers, Loners, and Rebels: The Spiritual Struggles of Boys.
Whenever we are failing or perceived as a failure in one area, we are most likely succeeding in another. For everything Emily is not, it leaves room for her to be something else. So while it is hard for me to let go of her childhood traditions, I know that we are making room for new and exciting things. As much as I have tried to hold onto all of her childhood, I cannot. But with this idea I can look ahead at how I can succeed with her tween years.