WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

Thanks for stopping by to KN J Tales and Snippets! Let me tell you a bit about myself and how this blog came to be.

I started journal writing as a form of cathartic release from all of the stresses of being a mother of two young children, working and day-to-day living.

I found that many of my journal entries were funny snippets of my day spent with my two adventurous and cheeky cherubs. Oftentimes, I’ve found myself in rather amusing and outright unbelievable situations. Of course, there have been times upon self-reflection where the entries speak of the darker moments in my life, like my struggles with mental health issues and parenting.

Journal writing re-awakened my love for creative writing and storytelling. I found a desire to share my words with others. And so after much deliberation, this blog was born. My very own blog journal!

If you choose to join me on my journey, you’ll probably read short stories based on my personal experiences in life and as a parent. Most of the time, they’ll be funny and relatable, maybe even inspiring! Other times, you might read some words that are hard for me to write but find the courage to share.

I’ll aim for a weekly post. Maybe even two! (very unlikely at this stage in life)

Subscribe to my email list if you want to be informed of new content as my posting regime is best described as erratic.

I hope you enjoy reading my words as much as I love writing them.

x Kathy

Update (18/7/22): I won’t be uploading any more posts on this platform. If you want to read new content and support me on my writing journey, please head over to my Medium account –
https://medium.com/@knj.home.blog

KN J Tales and Snippet

FAREWELL TO MY WORDPRESS FAMILY

Since my first post on March 1st 2019, I have created 146 blog posts and garnered over 11,000 views with the support of 430 amazing WordPress followers and some 1700 on other platforms. I would never have considered this possible when I first pressed that publish button.

The connections I’ve made here on WordPress have helped me through some of the dark moments in my life and I genuinely appreciate that. I am humbled that anyone would deem my ramblings worthy of their time to read, comment and like. For me, it is not easy to open up to people in real life about issues of depression, anxiety and life struggles. So it has felt safer to put those feelings into words and send them into the ether. In doing so, writing my emotions has been cathartic and cleansing. Even more humbling is knowing that my words have resonated with others. It has been comforting to know that I am not alone in the world with my struggles and experiences.

However, with a sad heart, I have to inform my WordPress family that I will no longer be creating content here on WordPress. There are too many platforms for me to manage, so I’ve decided to only create new content on my Medium account. For now, I will leave this platform open and keep responding to any comments.

I’ll be transferring old content over to my Medium account and uploading new content from time to time. If you want to join me on Medium and be informed of new content or read old musings, please head to: https://medium.com/@knj.home.blog or subscribe to: Click here to signup and support Kathy from KN J Tales and Snippets!

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my writing journey! I wish you all the best for the future and hope to see you on Medium.

Copyright © 2022, KN J Tales and Snippets. All rights reserved.

https://knj.home.blog/privacy-policy/

WHY I HATE PUBLIC SWIMMING POOLS

I have a real aversion to public swimming pools. It’s not because I can’t swim and am worried the lifeguards will have trouble dragging my sorry ass out of the water. No, it’s a lot less dramatic than that.

The idea of accidentally swallowing a festy old band-aid or a wayward pubic hair or people’s skin follicles makes me want to gag. Actually, I’ve just vomited a bit in my mouth as I type this – that’s how much I don’t like public pools.

Close your mouth! Why are you even drinking pool water?! I hear you yell out.

No one WANTS to make a liquid lunch out of disgusting bodily offcuts from randos but it HAPPENS. Let’s not forget about the dirty gastro-causing germs, accidental (or not so accidental) pee from kids and adults alike, and other bodily fluids that are excreted from people. Oh gosh, please wait while I dry retch a bit more.

Chlorine kills everything!

My husband likes to tell me this every time I complain about germs. I might be a bit of a germaphobe.

Look, here are the cold hard facts – I know the chances of contracting tinea from the change rooms are more likely than catching germs from pool water. BUT, chlorine does not kill everything so there’s still the risk of catching something like Giardia and I don’t want explosive diarrhoea.

Anyway, as you can see, I detest public swimming pools, but given how my children are learning how to swim and my daughter loves being in water, I have to go there. Once in a while, I have to enter the cesspool to supervise, and the experience leaves me feeling twitchy.

Yesterday, my husband suggested we take the children for a play at our local swimming centre. Our membership has restarted and there are no longer restrictions with numbers or needing to book sessions due to the pandemic. It was a good opportunity to make use of our time and money.

As I sat by the sidelines and watched my husband splash around with the kids, I took a few moments to observe my surroundings.

Sometimes I wonder how it is that I come across so much fodder for my blog. Why does it feel like I bear witness to strange stuff all the time? Am I attuned to the weird and wonderful because I’m looking for it?

I must be ‘cos why else would I see a REALLY hairy man (back and front, sides, legs… well, let’s just say everywhere!) wearing his CK undies in lieu of swimming trunks. If I could burn my retinas to remove the image of his manhood playing peekaboo through his wet transparent undies, I would. Add inappropriate swim gear to my list of ‘Why I hate public swimming pools’ please.

After shielding my precious eyes from further assault, I witnessed a fit looking, middle aged man standing by the pool steps doing quick calf muscle stretches, arm stretches, lunges and running on the spot before getting into the water. I was expecting him to do epic laps up and down the lanes because why else would you go to such trouble? I know warming up your muscles is important to avoid cramps and injury, but this man just got into the water to stand. He really confused my poor mind when he left after ten minutes of standing. What the? I tried really hard not to giggle. It was so funny to watch, much better than CK undies man.

An old lady holding some snorkels got into the pool after exercise man. I thought it was strange for her to wear her prescription glasses while trying to snorkel down the pool lane, but hey, whatever works for you lady!

As my attention reverted back to my daughter swimming nearby, two lifeguards decided to stand right in front of me, blocking my view. While staring at their backs (note: not backsides), I noticed they carried a lot of gear, along with a water bottle and a walkie-talkie. How could they save anyone if it takes them an age to strip off all that stuff? I hope never to test the hypothesis. One of the guards turned around and saw that he was blocking my view but instead of moving, he turned back and continued his boring conversation. How rude!

I left my seat to corral my daughter back to the others and found another seat. There I noticed a sign that read ‘No ball games or inflatables’. I looked back at the husband and children. Take a stab at what they were doing.

Can I add inadvertently condoning rule-breaking people to my list of ‘Why I hate public swimming pools’?

This list keeps growing at an alarming rate. It makes sense why I never bothered to learn how to swim. I know, I know, it’s a vital skill to have. I’ll get on it as soon as I overcome this aversion to public swimming pools.

Head over to Medium for more of my content.

Copyright © 2021, KN J Tales and Snippets. All rights reserved.

https://knj.home.blog/privacy-policy/