When I think of angels , I think of my mom and my grandma right away . My mom , Luz Marina , passed when I was 16 . She suffered with asthma her whole life . When she was 49 , she had an asthma attack and passed away . She was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple years before , so I guess her body just couldn ’ t handle the asthma attacks anymore . The day she died , she had an attack and they took her to the hospital and hooked her up to some machines . Because she had cancer and asthma , she ’ d spoken to us about death . She made it clear she didn ’ t want to be hooked up to a machine . We gave it two days , but her brain didn ’ t have much oxygen , so there wasn ’ t much we could do . I loved my mom ’ s attitude . She was feisty . I think I got that from her . She loved Halloween and scaring me , so she ’ d do things like put fake spiders under my pillow . Sixteen is when a girl wants to know about her sexuality and about boys and things like that . It was difficult to lose her then . I miss those conversations , and now I miss her when I want to talk about my marriage or how to keep a household . I always knew I wanted to be a mom , and now I have a daughter . It ’ s overwhelming , it ’ s hard , it ’ s frustrating , but it ’ s an incredible amount of joy and it ’ s fun . You get to raise someone with morals that you believe are right , with a foundation that you create . I get jealous when my friends tell me about how when their daughters hang out with their grandmothers . It was especially difficult in the beginning when she was a newborn . It ’ s an , “ I wish ,” sort of feeling . My grandma on my mom ’ s side , Marina , is also my angel . She wasn ’ t necessarily religious , but we used to do a lot of coloring books , and we ’ d always color angels . I was close to her throughout my childhood . I would go to her house and she would make me food , we ’ d watch the news together , and we ’ d color . She had pancreatic cancer and passed shortly after my mom did . The most important thing my mom and grandma passed on to me was compassion . My family has always been the compassionate type , and they ’ ve always taught me to think about how the other person is feeling . Be careful with your words . You never know what someone is going through . Nowadays , kids can be very cruel , so that is something I try to instill in my daughter . I want her to understand the concept of compassion .