All Shook Up

I adore Elvis Presley! He was a gifted and talented singer, actor, person and much more. I remember sitting on my mom's lap and crying the day we heard of his passing.

One of my favorite tunes of his is, "All Shook Up!"  (ooh ooh ooh, mmmmmm, yeah, yeah!) And that is how I feel today.

I spent the last two days in Boca Raton with my husband. My second step-dad left me the contents of his house in his will. I went there with the hopes of finding a few tangible bits of memories of him and my mom. It was a most successful trip.

As I cleaned out the closets, I laughed hysterically at every napkin and tissue that was stuffed into pant and shirt pockets. The two of them were constantly blowing noses. I then went into the lanai to find a basket full of sand dollars that we all wrote on as wedding favors for their Hawaiian-style wedding. I cried and cried and cried. Then we cleaned out a desk of his and I found one letter from my son to Alfonso. It was innocent and sweet and beautiful and it made me laugh AND cry. I found a thank-you note from my daughter to her grandparents thanking them for a graduation present. She signed the card; 'Love Deanna, your grand daughter with the great ass' cause that's what my mom always told her. Again, I laughed AND cried. I found a beautiful picture that Alfonso kept beside his desk of his mom. Of course I took it down to save it and low and behold, on the back was a note written that stated: "Please don't park here or ask. Next time - Police". So very typical Alfonso and I wasn't sure if it was before or after the photo of his mom was put on that paper, so again, I laughed AND cried.

Through the tears, however, I enjoyed my husband thoroughly, who was basking in the air conditioning that he wasn't sure the house even had. We were never allowed to turn it on; nor allowed to open a window when visiting them. It was next to torture, but now we laughed about having it on. I laughed as Victor went through the garage and all I kept hearing was, "Dude, throw SOMETHING away!" And we laughed as we looked rather like the Beverly Hillbillies packing the car to bring stuff home.

So the trip created one of those "All Shook Up" sort of emotional roller coasters. I retrieved a few things that truly touched and tugged at the heart strings. It was a good trip. I miss them both dearly. They will, however, always remain within my heart! I'm All Shook Up!