Three months without my baby

My daughter Valeria turns 20 years old today, but she will not be celebrating.

She and I are trying to learn, day by day, how to live with a pain that shakes our broken hearts, souls, emotions and stomachs; a pain that is so huge and intense that it takes over our bodies.

A good morning, mija, a good night; just talking out loud, wishing she would answer back.

Hearing the band practicing every weeknight all the way from Nogales High School to my back yard, wishing she was there; day by day, trying to understand this world and people's reactions and attitudes, wishing that a lesson is learned from my beautiful daughter Sofia's death.

Hoping that teenagers don't forget what can happen in an instant; hoping that they get it through their heads that having guns is a big responsibility, and that they should be kept in a safe place under lock; hoping that teenagers realize a gun in your hand doesn't make you Rambo, macho, or a cool kid; hoping that this pain that my family, true friends, and I are living doesn't happen again.

Perla Wilczewski

(The proud mother of Perla Sofia Palma)

Nogales