“You should eat!” – my parents would scold.

I realize now, it wasn’t that I didn’t like to eat, it was the added “should” that I disliked in this admonition.

My mind exactly went to a rhetorical question, and I shot back, sometimes in my head, sometimes out loud if I was bold enough,“Why should I?”

Why should we do anything? Why is should even a word? Direct from Google and Oxford Languages, the first definition I read, is “used to indicate obligation, duty, or correctness, typically when criticized. (Hmmm). Perhaps, the direct definition of “the should” I rebelled against, as a teenager and beyond.

However, tempered with some adult experience, I adapted my vocabulary with a more subdued meaning according to the auxiliary functions (outlined by Merriam-Webster), “to express futurity from a point of view in the past, or even to express in a polite manner to soften a direct statement.” Thus”the should”, I used with my own children, following in step.

Writing from the Kitchen was developed slowly while practicing courage to share my writing with others. As my writing world has grown, so has my purpose. The “shoulds” in my life have been replaced with heartfelt desire to change what can be and accept what cannot be changed. The lessons in the “kitchen” of my young life, growing up, have made their way into my “cookbook”.

Although a long time in coming, my book will be published and available publicly for purchase in the first quarter of 2023. My daughter so lovingly began the process and compiled my posts into a collection. It is currently in the final edit phase.

My kitchen has changed over the years, and so have my principles, all in direct collaboration with learning by living.

The outline of my blog was born from a simple concept, the kitchen. The place we go to receive nourishment. Reading and writing also satiates the hunger in my soul. Yet like eating, satisfaction does not last for long, so the process must be repeated to stay healthy. And, the aroma of curiosity continues to stir my appetite.

Because I find extra joy in preparing and sharing both food and words with others, I will continue to present morsels of thought, deep messages hidden in metaphor. In addition, I will now include essays with more practical ideas, to help some who may be struggling similarly, in an attempt to provide healthy choices to ponder.

As I re-launch Writing From the Kitchen, it’s makeover in progress, with a new menu, prepared with personal, delectable discoveries, I add my disclaimer. This is one of my passion projects, the creative work, I was called to do. I will continue to ask questions, and answer them from the paradigm of my own “kitchen.” With each preponderance, I open the kitchen to you, to view soulful recipes built with life’s ingredients garnished with “nature’s delights”.

My hope is that my “writing from the kitchen” continues to inspire you with its food for thought.

• Erika K Rothwell