January 31, 2013. (Her seventeenth birthday.)
It's been a year since everything changed. 365 days to be exact. It feels like decades ago; but I guess that's what happens when you find out something so huge.

January 31, 2012. (Her sixteenth birthday.)
As we climb the stairs to her room, I notice all of the dog hair covering the hardwood floors. They have two golden retrievers, and no amount of vacuuming would ever keep up with their endless supply of hair. The yellow carpet continues as we turn right into her room and sit down on her bed. She shares the room with her sister, ( they have bunk beds and she gets the bottom bunk), so I can't sit up straight without hitting my head. We chat about school for a while, but I can tell she's nervous. When she says that she has something to tell me, my stomach flip flops, making me feel sick. It takes some time for her words to sink in, but when they do, I feel numb. I sit in a stupor while she speaks and the words don't fully sink in.
Later that night, we are sitting in her kitchen. I am mixing cupcake batter while she cuts up some strawberries for her little sister. When her sister leaves the kitchen and turns on the TV in the living room, she turns to me, still holding the paring knife. Nonchalantly, she tells me that the knife she is holding is the one she used, because it is the sharpest, the best for cutting.