My brother never calls me (he prefers to text), so when I heard his ringtone, I had a feeling. Our lola hadn’t been doing well this last year and even my dad (her oldest son) felt she wasn’t going to make it to her birthday in January.

I’d last seen my lola last summer; it became an impromptu family reunion, but I traveled mainly for her. I am so lucky, so blessed, to have had her in my life for as long as I did. She was a living saint in our family, and now she’s an actual angel and in peace rest.

She’ll be buried a country away, but my soul aches for her blessing and gentle, firm grip on the sides of my head as I’d bend down to get forehead kisses from her. I am lucky to be her legacy, her granddaughter, that my life is as magical and blessed because I was loved by her.

If there is someone you love, tell them. Always tell them you love them because you will never know when it’ll be the last time.