May 10, 2020: Happy Mothers' Day—"MÃE, MEU ANJO QUERIDO"!

My wife Leny and I still sometimes alternate for this song between the titles "Laços Eternos (Eternal Bonds)" and "Mãe, Meu Anjo Querido (Mom, My Dear Angel)," with the latter being the official, winning title on YouTube.

Leny wrote these beautiful lyrics, and I wrote the music and did the instruments and harmony. Arrangement was by our amazing musician-friend Luciano Antonio. Leny wrote these touching words for her own mother, my wonderful mother-in-law, Dona Lidia. And I love the imagery and emotion that comes through Leny's lyrics. I believe she truly wrote a song for ANYONE who has or ever had a mother!

The pictures and videos in this music are from family and friends, and include shots of little me, and beautiful little Leny, and so many other poignant mother-and-child pictures of people who are very close to us.

My own mother left this life 22 years ago—exactly 25 hours and 10 minutes after our last Mothers' Day together ended. Wow, already 22 years ago....We were all together on that May Sunday in 1998, the whole immediate family, at the long-time family home, in Naperville, Illinois. We were celebrating, singing, and carrying on like Mom was still with us that Mothers' Day—and of course she was, although just barely. She was so frail then from her years'-long courageous battle against cancer, and would move on in some hours.

Now...OK, looking ahead some days to later this week, on Friday 5/15/20, I will post my new music video for May—a song to be called "Hope and Mope," the lyrics to which my mother actually wrote, 50 years ago! It's really 3 poems she wrote back then (she was quietly prolific!), that I combined into one song a while back. I have reworked and remixed the song this month. See you again soon then with that music video, on Friday! Until then and also after of course, stay safe and healthy please, in this time of quarantine. This is her, by the way, and me (foreground on the raft) with my 4 siblings, many moons ago on vacation in Eagle River, Wisconsin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUE84KuK2vI