You'll Be in My Heart

Mother’s Day can feel like a spotlight on what you miss. If you’re celebrating, we celebrate with you. If you’re grieving, we sit with you and tell the truth: love doesn’t disappear when someone is gone, but it does change shape, and some days it hits hard.

We talk about why this season is so personal for us, and how a surprising source opened the door for healing. Bryan has been learning guitar and found himself drawn into the lyrics of “You’ll Be In My Heart,” the Phil Collins classic from Disney’s Tarzan. As we unpack a few lines, the song becomes more than music. It becomes a way to honor the bond that survives distance, time, and even death, and a reminder that remembrance is not weak or sentimental; it’s proof that love existed.

Along the way, we say our mothers’ names out loud and reflect on Coco’s message about keeping loved ones present through memory. We also name the hard part: grief doesn’t run on a schedule. It can feel like the ocean, calm one moment and overwhelming the next. We share the everyday things that bring our moms back to us, from recipes and family sayings to faith, work ethic, frugality, generosity, and the traditions we swore we’d never repeat but now carry with us.

Stay to the end to hear Bryan’s live performance dedicated to our mothers. If this conversation helps you, share it with someone who needs comfort, and subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next. Will you tell us one memory of your mom or mother figure that still guides you today?

Transcript

Welcome To Bro Talk

SPEAKER_07 0:00

Welcome to the Bro Talk Podcast. I'm Brian Williams coming to you from H Town. I'm Jermaine Alberty coming to you from Las Vegas, Nevada. And today's episode is deeply and very personal for Jermaine and myself.

SPEAKER_06 0:16

We know that a very special day happens every year, and that's Mother's Day, and it's approaching us. And we recognize that this season carries many emotions. From some it's celebration, for others, it's reflection. And for many like me, it's grief. Memory, gratitude, and love all wrapped together.

SPEAKER_07 0:37

And that's interesting to hear you say that because I know your mom passed away several years ago. And this will be the first Mother's Day that I will experience the grief of not having my mom physically present with me. And so today we're titling it You'll Be in My Heart. And as you know, I've recently embarked upon a journey to learn how to play the guitar. And my guitar instructor, Kyle Sanchez, he's been really working with me for about a year and a half to master some very challenging bar chords. And one of the songs that he wanted me to learn was entitled You'll Be in My Heart. And it comes from the Disney movie Tarzan. And the song You'll Be in My Heart is that Phil Collins song. I had never seen the movie Tarzan. I had never heard of this particular song. But when I learned how to play it and really paid attention to the lyrics, I thought that there was something very special and significant about that song. And as you know, this past Sunday, I performed it in a concert and I dedicated it to my mom and my sister who had passed. And you and I had a conversation, and we thought that this would be a wonderful episode for us to really dedicate the song to both of our moms.

SPEAKER_06 1:57

And I'm so excited because our listening audience is going to get a chance to hear that performance at the end of this podcast. So y'all stay tuned because you're going to actually hear this song, You'll Be in My Heart, being performed by my friend, my brother Brian. This song is so powerful because even when someone is no longer physically present with us, we do know the love has a way of remaining with us.

SPEAKER_07 2:27

Absolutely. Both of our moms have transitioned from this life, but we know that their impact continues to shape who we are and continues to shape the men that we're becoming.

SPEAKER_06 2:39

You know, and I want to just take a moment to invite our listening audience to just those of you who maybe don't have your mother or your grandmother or that spiritual mother who was instrumental in your life. Uh, I just want to take a moment to call out their name, you know, to say their name. And so I'm going to start by saying the name of my mother, Brenda Rose Alberty.

SPEAKER_07 3:07

And I'll echo that and just lift up the name of my mother, Linda Poole Williams. And I don't know if you want to talk to our listening audience about what happens in the movie Coco when we loved ones. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 3:30

One of my favorite movies, Disney movies, is Coco. And it's about keeping the memory of your loved ones alive by way of a photo by way of just items that they had in this lifetime. And so by speaking their names, they live on. Eternal life was never forgetting the name, never forgetting to say the name of the loved one who had transitioned. And so whether you are from a Christian tradition or another faith tradition, or simply hold deep spiritual values and memories of loved ones, this conversation is for you.

Unpacking Lyrics And Unbreakable Bonds

SPEAKER_07 4:23

And so what we set out to do in this particular episode is we're going to unpack several lyrics from the song as we pay homage and tribute and honor our moms. Uh, we're going to just reflect on some of the verses from that particular song and share a couple of special memories that we have of our moms. So there's a line from the song that says, This bond between us can't be broken. And honestly, that captures what many of us feel about the people who have raised us, nurtured us, prayed for us, sacrificed for us, and loved us.

SPEAKER_06 5:02

Absolutely. And let me just say this: there are some bonds that transcends time. My mother transitioned September 1st, 2012, and here we are almost 14 years later, and she's still with me ever present, ever present. And so some bonds transcend time, distance, and even death itself.

SPEAKER_07 5:29

Yes, many of us were taught to honor the people who gave us life, guidance, and love. And I think that honor piece really becomes important because, you know, as I reflect over the memory of my mom, and I think several of us can identify with this particular thought or memory. I think as we grow up and we go through the stages of childhood, adolescent, and those teenage years and the young adulthood, we may not do the very best job of honoring and pre-honoring and appreciating our moms. But when they pass and they trans they transition from us and they're no longer here physically with us, I think we appreciate them even all the more. And I think, or at least I'll speak for me, sometimes we wish we could turn back the hands of time and honor them while they were physically here.

SPEAKER_06 6:22

You know, and honoring them isn't just about remembrance, it becomes how we live, how we love, and even how we carry forward the lessons that they poured into us. And so it's not just about the portrait on the mantle. Uh, it's not just about the ways we honor people by putting out Facebook posts. No, if you really want to honor somebody, live and love the way they taught you to and those lessons that they taught us. It becomes so, so very powerful when they're no longer here to scold you or ask you why you called me or whatever else it may be. Uh, and so I think it's so important that we honor not just the remembrance, but how we live.

When Mother’s Day Hurts

SPEAKER_07 7:14

And you know, you mentioned this at the beginning of our podcast that we are celebrating Mother's Day, and there are mixed emotions associated with celebrating Mother's Day. And I didn't understand it at the time, but now that my mom has transitioned and passed on, I really do understand that not everybody is excited or thrilled or happy about this day because some of us no longer have our moms physically here. Some of us didn't have a mom physically present with us to raise us or to rear us. We had a surrogate mom or another relative. And sometimes some of us didn't have a positive relationship with our moms. And so Mother's Day has mixed emotions attached to it for all of us. And what we want you to know is that however you're feeling, it's okay uh to feel the way that you do. And for those of us who no longer have our moms physically present with us, we may be experiencing mourning, grief, and and sometimes when we're experiencing those emotions, and I know Jermaine, you mentioned that your mom passed 14 years ago. My mom passed almost a year ago, uh, about 11 months to the day. And sometimes when when we grieve, uh, no matter how long the transition has taken place, sometimes we might feel pressured to move on from grief.

Grief Has No Schedule

SPEAKER_06 8:51

Yeah, and what I think is so important is that grief doesn't operate on a schedule. Grief, I describe many times, it's like the ocean. It is both shallow and deep. There are times where you feel like you can move through it and you're not gonna drown. And there's other times you go through it and you feel like you're underneath the water and you can't breathe. And so it's so important that people know that grief doesn't operate on a schedule and you don't have to just move on.

SPEAKER_07 9:24

No, you don't have to move on. Grief doesn't happen on a particular timetable or a schedule. And uh we often know that there are stages of grief, but I believe that that grief can actually reoccur and we can go through that cycle of grief, you know, over a period of time. And so we want our listening audience to know that you you have permission to grieve and you have permission to grieve for however long it takes. And I'm okay with that, and you should be okay with that.

SPEAKER_06 9:58

Yeah, because sometimes healing looks like tears, and sometimes healing looks like laughter at an old memory, and sometimes healing is simply surviving the day.

Food Memories And Work Ethic

SPEAKER_07 10:14

So, Jermaine, when you think about your mother, your mom, what stays with you the most?

SPEAKER_06 10:21

Tamali pie, rice balls, fried chicken, all the amazing food that my mom made. And I'm the oldest of seven kids. Snow Mother knew how to stretch a meal, and people from the neighborhood would come over to our house just to eat what Miss Brenda was making. You know, uh Brenda Rose Albert, we called her affectionately sometimes BA, you know, but Brenda Rose Albert. And I used to I used to tease her uh when I was younger say, Mama, your niche will spell your niche will spell bra. That's but but uh you know, yeah, that is what I remember. Uh one of the memories I remember most about her is just her cooking. And I've carried on that tradition of cooking, but I her love of cooking, her love for community, her love for others, that cooking, that love was intertwined. And so, Brian, when you reflect on your mother now, uh, what do you appreciate more as an adult uh than you did as a child?

The Safety Of A Mother’s Hand

SPEAKER_07 11:32

Well, when I reflect on Linda Poole Williams, and that was her name, there are a lot of things that I appreciate now that I didn't appreciate as a child or as an adolescent. Uh, a couple things come to mind. Number one, my mom was an extremely hard worker. Uh, she worked at the same job for 40 years. She was a typist with the Social Security Administration. And I think that's where my hard work ethic comes from because she got up continuously, consistently, and went to work every single day. And that's one of the things I appreciated about her. We, you know, I came from a large family, five sisters, three brothers. There were nine of us, single mom. And although we, you know, relied on government assistance at times, uh, my mom was still a hard work worker. And she didn't allow the government assistance that we received to become a crutch. Something else I appreciated about her that I didn't really enjoy as a child is that she made us go to church every single Sunday. And we didn't enjoy that. We didn't like going to church, but she was just planting seeds uh into our minds and into our hearts and into our spirits for us to develop a relationship with our creator. And now that I look back on that, uh I appreciate those times and those moments where she modeled for us what it meant to have a relationship with our God and with our creator. And then something else I appreciate about her that I I didn't agree with or care for at the time, you know, she was a woman who, you know, only obtained a high school diploma. So she never had an opportunity to go to college. But what she wanted for her children is for us to go farther and faster than she did. And so she sacrificed uh the little bit that she had and saved money. And we applied for tuition assistance for us to go to Catholic schooling uh in our neighborhood. She did not like the neighborhood school that we were zoned to, and she felt like that that was not gonna be able to give us an adequate education. So she sacrificed a lot to send us to private Catholic schooling. And that really taught me the importance and value of an education, and that education actually was gonna be an opportunity for us to open doors and create a bright future for ourselves. So those are things I appreciate about her that I didn't appreciate as a child. And so, Jermaine, as we continue this journey of unpacking the lyrics to the song You'll be in my heart, there's another one of the lyrics that says, just take my hand and hold it tight. And when I hear that now, I think about the emotional safety mothers often create.

SPEAKER_06 14:34

Yeah, it's that feeling that someone was protecting you. And we both had hard-working mothers. So even when they were tired themselves, overwhelmed or caring burdens nobody saw, they most definitely still, in their own unique way, held us tight.

SPEAKER_07 14:56

They did. I often thought of my mother as overprotective, but I I can see now as I look back and reflect that she was just being a mom and doing the very best that she could to make sure that her children were cared for and protected, and that was her responsibility. And so as although I gotten older, I gained a deeper appreciation for the sacrifice and the protection and the overprotection that she ensured and provided for us.

SPEAKER_06 15:31

And man, I tell you, what's so very interesting is how the older we get, how maturity has a way of changing those memories of what we thought was, like you said, overprotection to maybe that mother hand knew what was out in that world that we needed to avoid. So, yeah, that that somehow when we get older, those memories just evolve and we think back because we have a different lens now to see what they saw that we couldn't see.

SPEAKER_07 16:09

Yeah, absolutely. As children, we often see provision as adults, we finally recognize the cost of it.

Faith, Frugality, And Generosity

SPEAKER_06 16:16

Yeah, and I tell you, sometimes we know raising children at a very large cost, but I'm so grateful uh for my mom and for your mom. And, you know, they taught us principles. And I'm curious, Brian, what principle from your mother still guides your life today? You kind of mentioned her work ethic, but what else kind of guides your life today?

SPEAKER_07 16:42

Uh, there were a lot of principles that I learned from her that she didn't necessarily directly teach me, but I saw her kind of live out in her day-to-day decision making and choices and uh that I kind of learned from her. And one I'm, you know, I mentioned earlier is just that principle of faith and having a relationship with the faith community and a relationship with our creator. So that's a principle that still guides me today. Um also, and I think you can attest to this, and everybody that knows me very well can probably agree with this. My mother was very frugal. And so I think that frugality come came from, you know, I've got nine children, nine miles to fee, and there's only a little bit of income coming in. I had to make this stretch. And so she was very frugal with us and with the money that she had. And so that that's a that frugality is a principle that is carried over to me. And it's actually taught me discipline and learning how to save and put aside, you know, something for a rainy day so that when hard times come, uh, I'm prepared to um be able to have something to be able to respond to those hard times. And so there are lots of principles that I learned from her, but those are two that that kind of emerge as I reflect about this question. So, Jermaine, what for you, what part of your mother's spirit or personality do you see showing up in yourself now?

SPEAKER_06 18:25

Admired your frugality, which I have. I wish I had it, but I don't. Uh I have my mother's generous spirit, and my mother gave sometimes to hurt. My mother gave what she didn't have. Um both spiritually, both physically, both financially. She was just very generous and she gave. And so I have her spirit of generosity, but I also have her spirit of love. And sometimes my mother loved long and hard, and that reciprocity wasn't always giving back to her. And I have that also. I love love uh long. And I dare not say love long and wrong, but sometimes I feel like I do. And I see that showing up in myself sometimes. And uh I call her name out loud, say, all right, Brenda Rose, all right, Brenda Rose, I I feel you in me, but you know, I'd rather be a lover of people than to be a person who is suspicious of all people and you know, negative. Her optimism about life, her positivity about life, uh lives in me. And so that's just really, I think, that her spirit and personality that lives in me to this day.

Voicemails, Traditions, And Becoming Them

SPEAKER_07 19:54

I concur. You and I have been friends for a long time. And one of the things I admire and appreciate about you is your generous spirit and your love for people. And I think anybody that knows you can echo that. Another powerful line from the song says, No matter what they say, you'll be here in my heart always.

SPEAKER_06 20:19

Man, that's a powerful line. And that is what memory does. It keeps people alive within us. Um today I realized that. So what I did was when a loved one passes away, I take their number out of my phone, but I will put in place their um, you know, rest in heaven or something like that with their name. And I today I was going to my phone because I wanted to view some text messages from one of those mothers who transitioned. And I realized when I removed their telephone number, I actually got rid of those text messages. And my heart was broken for a minute. I thought, man, I just wanted to read some of our conversations back. Uh, one of the things I have for my mother is a voicemail she left me. And I don't play that back because her voice is there. And at the end she says, She loves me. And so I'll just play that back just to hear her tell me she loves me. Uh, and so, you know, to hear their sayings, to hear their voice, to hear their laughter. Uh, and then sometimes you notice that you're becoming more and more like them.

SPEAKER_07 21:43

Yes. Uh, you know, I uh I I sometimes I catch myself not necessarily saying things that my mom would say because she was a a woman of few words, uh but I find myself doing the things. That she used to do that I didn't appreciate as a child. I remember, you know, as a child growing up, she used to turn on gospel music and listen to that as she was getting ready for work, or if she was driving in the morning, she would turn on gospel music as we were going to our destination, or if there was ever an opportunity for her to drop us off at school. Or on Sundays as she was preparing our dinner, and I'll talk about that in a minute. She would turn on uh sermons from other churches and listen to them. And so I find myself now as an adult doing those same things. So as I get ready for work in the morning, I have to turn on my Christian and gospel music, and that gets me moving in the day, or from exercising or working out, that's the music that I appreciate and listen to. And as a kid, I didn't enjoy listening to it. But as an adult, I appreciate that now. And I think that's one of the things that my mom passed down to me. You know, growing up in a large family, feeding a large family could be expensive in the 70s, 80s, and part of the 90s. And so one of the things that we ate every single Sunday, and when I say every single Sunday, that was the meal every Sunday, fried chicken. And so there were there were very few Sundays where we did not eat fried chicken after church. And that's one of the things now I find myself doing is eating fried chicken on a Sunday. And I've tried to deviate from that, but that's that's one of the things that I've learned from my mom, and that is that has been passed out to me. And these are just two, you know, interesting examples of things that I didn't appreciate as a kid, but now I find myself doing them as an adult.

SPEAKER_06 24:04

So I think the world wants to know what's your favorite piece of chicken.

SPEAKER_07 24:09

Well, people that know me very well, they know that as a kid growing up, only my mom and the older siblings were afforded the white piece of chicken, the breast. And the other pieces, the dark meat, were relegated to the younger siblings. And so to this day, I do not eat dark meat. I will only eat white meat or the breast of a chicken. That's your if I am offered a dark piece, I will not eat it.

SPEAKER_06 24:44

All right. Wow, wow, wow, that's that right there something. I tell you, my mother had a lexicon of choice words, and I think right now that she will be smiling down from heaven, understanding that I've actually gone into her lexicon of choice words and found myself using some of those choice words, and and so she could string together some words, man. She'd say, sit your monkey something, something what in the world? I mean, she was string those words together, and man, I tell you, she had a way with words, but the funny part about it is that she used to say, I didn't know what that mm-mm. But now that I've gotten older, there are sometimes I shake my head when my kids do things when I don't understand what's going on in the world. I'm like, mm-mm. Because that is just a way of saying, God, I don't know what to do with this, but you got to do something because I can't fix this one. And so I have appreciated the mm-mm from that lexicon. And that was my grandma, that was my aunties, that was something that they all said was mm-mm. So listen, same here about things that my mom did or said, they stick with me to this day.

SPEAKER_07 26:20

Absolutely. It's interesting that these reflections that we are having are just some positive memories that we're able to think about and that provide comfort and, as you mentioned earlier, healing. Um but overall, these these memories become comforting to us and for us.

SPEAKER_06 26:40

And for anyone who's listening today, I just want you to know if you've lost a mother, grandmother, aunt, a mentor, or a mother figure, I want you to know this that you are not alone.

SPEAKER_07 26:53

And we want you to know that your grief is not weakness, because what that grief is, is evidence that love existed. And even in grief, many of us still hold on to hope.

SPEAKER_06 27:10

And that hope, that love continues beyond what we can physically see, is so very important.

SPEAKER_07 27:17

And the people who helped shape us still walk with us through memory, through legacy, through values, and most importantly through love.

SPEAKER_06 27:27

And maybe it's that certain song, because my mother was known for putting that radio on the front porch and playing her blues and her RB, and even popping a can of beer, and so and some smells and some recipes and some prayers or even conversations can instantly bring them back into the world.

SPEAKER_07 27:54

And you just have me wondering, like, what was her favorite kind of beer?

SPEAKER_06 28:01

That's a good question. That's a good question. I think it was like Miller, like a Miller. My grandma drank, my grandma drunk Miller Light. And by the way, I feel like I won't have just called her name uh Geraldine Alberty. Geraldine Alberty and Dorothy Moss, those are my grandmothers. I miss them dearly too.

SPEAKER_07 28:24

Well, that's what this episode and this podcast is about: honoring and remembering not just mothers, but grandmothers, surrogate mothers. That's that that's what we're you know recording this podcast. And so, Jermaine, if Brenda Rose, your mom, could hear you right now, what would she say?

SPEAKER_06 28:47

I love you, I'm proud of you, and keep the faith. And what would you say to her? Thank you. Didn't understand it all, but I thank you. And so, Brian, what is one thing you wish you could say to your mother today?

A Prayer For Comfort And Peace

SPEAKER_07 29:07

You know, I would let her know, and I still have one of those voice messages on my phone, and I hope I don't lose it. But she would call me periodically and say, This is your mother. Give me a call. And so I'd, you know, I would I still hear her voice. I wish I could hear it again, and not just on on a recorded device, but but physically, I wish I could say to her that I I appreciate you, and I didn't there were probably times where I didn't appreciate you enough, but I appreciate you, and you did the very best that you could with what you had, and so I appreciate you.

SPEAKER_06 29:53

Well, Brian, before we close, we want to offer a moment of reflection for everyone listening.

SPEAKER_07 29:59

Whether you pray, whether you meditate, whether you reflect, or simply sit quietly with memory, this moment is for you. Creator of love, comfort, and peace.

SPEAKER_06 30:12

We thank you for the people who nurtured us, protected us, sacrificed for us, and helped shape our lives.

SPEAKER_07 30:20

For those carrying grief today, bring comfort. For those carrying regret, bring peace. For those feeling alone, remind them that they are still surrounded by love, memory, and community.

SPEAKER_06 30:37

Help us honor those we miss not only through words, but through how we live, serve, forgive, and love others.

SPEAKER_07 30:46

And may we continue to become the people they hoped we would be.

Closing Words And Song Setup

SPEAKER_06 30:51

Amen. Well, thank you for joining us for this special Mother Day episode.

SPEAKER_07 30:59

This has been the Bro Talk Podcast, where real talk leads to purpose. And remember, the people we love may leave our site, but they'll always be in our hearts. And as you listen to this song, you'll be in my heart. You'll hear me play alongside my instructor, Kyle Sanchez, and his beautiful princesses singing along.

SPEAKER_04 31:48

Just stay quiet, hold your time. I will protect you from all around you. I will be here, don't you cry?

SPEAKER_05 32:03

For until you seem so strong.

SPEAKER_03 32:13

This one between us can't be bulky. I will be here, don't you cry?

SPEAKER_04 32:27

Yes, you're all good.

SPEAKER_01 33:50

We mean each other.

SPEAKER_04 34:06

You must be still but you got the bulgers.