My Thoughts Exactly by Annette Kniola

    I could not help myself but to tell you a little story that happened to me a few nights back. Or I should say very early in the morning. So I have the feral/domestic cat we call Patches, that comes and goes often. He sleeps in most nights but usually wants out anytime between 2-6 am.  I just get up, open the slider by the pool, and off he goes. But this time, he was hesitant.  As was I.  It was dark, 4:30 in the morning and I peered out to see something small a couple feet from the pool.  I turned the light on and took a peek, and it was the tiniest baby opossum I have seen in awhile. She was all curled up tight, wet, and it was very cold out. There was no way she fell in and got out of the pool, I think Mama 'Possum got her out but had to leave her behind. So, Annette to the rescue!  I went back into the house and got a towel to wrap her in so I could get her dried off and warm. Honestly, I still didn't know if she was even alive. She was like frozen stiff.  Though I know

Raising four boys in this lifetime has not come easy. Now that I'm down to my last son in the home, I find myself trying harder than I ever, as to humble one's thoughts. His thoughts. Our young generation is struggling. Trying to keep up in today's world is just too much for these fragile young minds to handle. Heck, I'm 53 and I find it a struggle myself. Life is a different ball game in these trying years, but most important, we should tackle them hands on, the best we can.   What is humbling beginnings to me?  Well, if you look into our younger generation now, it's obvious it's all about them. They have no filters, they find themselves so caught up in one's self, they tend to lose value as to who they really are and to those who surround them. (If that makes any sense). I am here to humble those who get a little ahead of themselves, and I find I am doing that more and more with my youngest, Matthew.  Even his brothers are doing the best they can to guide

  I can't help but notice a lot has changed in people recently. Most things I let go, still pretty much do, but then there are things I can't understand and simply wonder about. Since work has picked up again, I am busier than ever.  I good thing, I suppose. But I have noticed many new characteristics in society that does not sit well with me. In my case, many seem so angry and can be cruel. I don't want to point fingers, but it's mainly men. What is it? Have they been caged up so long that now they can finally express their anger and cruelty onto others. Hmmm...😕 Thankfully, I teach my children that if they come across circumstances where they feel threatened or treated in a bad way, to turn it around and kill them with kindness. Total reverse psychology. My kind of, 'cruel to be kind'. And by God, it works! I work in the hospitality industry, and just from the start of this year I have had more confrontations from people that I can count. Heck, I just had two

    You have to admit these past couple of years have whizzed by with a strange reality of the new you. Yes, this is me writing to you for a second. Have you found yourself more isolated and somewhat of a germophobic since Covid hit our world almost two years ago? Are you home alot more, or now working at home?  Seemingly more and more out of touch with society, a bit more angry, and less closer to friends?  Well, that's me, and I don't like it, yet I do at the same time.  Call it a silver lining if you will. Or the new reality. With this reality has also brought on alot of sadness and pain to many. Myself included. I lost my Mom, a close cousin, an Aunt and three Uncles, a close friend, my dog Duma, and cat Pharoah. Though I am not here to write a bummer of a blog. I am writing because not only do I need to start writing again, but all I ask for Christmas this year, is peace on earth.  (Why I didn't write a book while I have been home all this time is beyond me).   With th

Benjamin Kniola -2/18/2003                                   ~BABY BEN~ It was the year 2003 at North Collier Hospital Birth Center, where I was scheduled to have a C-section and expecting you, my third boy, Baby Ben. As I lay there for the birth of you, I remember calling out to the doctors that it was the best C-section I ever had! Now you don't hear that every day. It was nothing like the one with your older brother, Nickolas, where I swear to God, I died twice and even saw "The Light." 😇  Later, come to find out, it was just the light above my surgery table. Ha! Too funny! It was my blood pressure that tanked and made me feel like I died. I still see it to this day though. But that's another story. After your birth, they held you up over the sheet that separated my upper half so I could not see what was going on. I got a brief look at you as you cried and cried, all covered in blood. Good strong lungs I thought, as I laid there all cloudy, happy an

    Have you watched the Social Dilemma yet? I watched it a month or so ago and found it astounding. It may help some understand why life needs to be much more simple without the manipulation of others. And if you haven't noticed, I myself, other than a page I run on Facebook, have since backed down from social media greatly. Watch this documentary and you will understand why. The manipulation of life in our society has become far too great, and it's become a burden to me now.  Thankfully, I am working on finding my inner peace and focusing on keeping it. So here we are, 2021. Do you feel like the world is messed up?  Do you feel alone, oddly different, and maybe just a touch more angry on the reactions or no reactions of our society? Well, I certainly have. We all have. I have been wanting to write this or anything for that matter for the longest time, but I have been stuck.  So stuck that I don't even care anymore. Maybe that's where my inner peace is taking over. Tho