Bitter Playmates
Late spring 2026 has arrived. It’s a season I claimed summer last year as the season of deep transition. I knew I’d be shaking off my Corporate black blazer and investing time in the grass. I denied myself of knowing that this particular transition would unearth bitterness and unspoken need for resolution.
I had no idea I’d be this bitter about all the questions I’d have on the other side of keeping promises to myself.
No one really trains you on the bitterness that can be built over a career. The truths you were not allowed to tell to your team coupled with the framing you’ve had to do (and undo) in the Boardroom. And here I am on the cusp of transitioning fully out of two decades of building - sitting with a pile of bitter mush of a heart.
I have to ask myself so many new questions.
What lures me? What petrifies me? What entices me? What captivates me and holds my attention?
No, that’s not even it…what even warrants my attention?
I’ve been challenging myself to attract bitter things - let’s not deny the bitterness within myself by putting it on the plate. I want to play with it. See if it becomes something different.
Sweetness.
Spice.
Heat that grows and expands in the warmth that I know is sure to come into my life after this period of transition.
Bok choy is quickly becoming my favorite playmate in the kitchen. I’ve love slicing them in half and then slathering glazes that work with the bitterness. She’s a bitter little playmate that’s taught me to entice my bitterness with balance.
Can I find join in birdsong that disrupts my final calls?
Can I appreciate entanglements that distracted me for a titch and now release with the tide?
Can I allow for ease and softening with the growing heat of the Pacific Northwest Summer?
Can this bitterness of mine coil itself into some mischief?
Ah, bok choy. Your bitter power fails to fully hold with a layered base.
And so does mine.
Maple Glazed Bok Choy
INGREDIENTS
2 Bok Choy (cut in half)
2T Olive Oil
2T Maple Syrup
1/2T Garlic Powder or 1T Minced Garlic
1t Szechuan Pepper
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350degrees or set open fire to medium blaze.
Slice the bok choy in half and lay side by side cut side up in a glass baking dish.
Wisk glaze ingredients and brush generously over bok choy.
Cook in oven for 12min or over indirect fire for 5-8min. FLIP! Complete cooking using either method until bok choy is tender.
