Nobody rings a bell on the last day of being a kid. You just look back and it’s gone.

Growing up does not happen on a date. It happens in small handovers you never notice, a game you stop playing, a way of talking you drop, a worry you start carrying. By the time the change is obvious it has already finished, which is why looking back at it can feel like a loss nobody told you about.

There is nothing to guard against here, only something to notice. If some part of being younger still gives you something, keep doing it a while longer without justifying it. Endings you get to see coming are kinder than the ones you find out about later.