Sunday Post | VIVIAN KIRKFIELD – Writer for Children

Mommy, you said just one bite!

Which is my pleasure? My daughter and grandson whom I love dearly? Or the chocolate ice-cream they are eating?

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is PLEASURE.

Life is filled with pleasures…watching a sunset, dancing in the moonlight on a summer evening, completing a difficult project successfully, carving out a chunk of time so that you can read a great book, riding in a convertible with the top down (as long as the weather is pleasant)…the list can go on and on.

For me, the greatest pleasure is spending time with my loved ones.

But food is also one of life’s pleasures…that’s probably why cooking shows are so popular on TV. Each of us has our own particular favorites. For me, ice-cream tops the list. I must admit that EVERY night I have a small bowl of ice-cream…and my dear sweet husband makes sure that the freezer has at least four or five exotic varieties so that I will never be without…here’s a look at what’s in our freezer right now: Denali Extreme Moose Tracks, Black Raspberry Chocolate, Italian Café Tiramisu, Chocolate Ganache, French Silk and Rocky Road. Do you notice that each has chocolate in it…that is not by accident, you can be sure! It’s a good thing we have a good-size freezer…honestly, we do have “real” food in there also!

This love that I have for ice-cream is probably a carry-over from childhood, as are many of the things most of us like or dislike. If you haven’t seen the poem I wrote (it won second place!) that addresses the topic of overcoming childhood fears, you can go to: Marylin Warner: Things I Want To Tell My Mother: February Poetry Contest Winners.

Ice-cream has always been a part of my life. My dad loved ice-cream…Friday night was shopping night (I guess Thursday was payday) and my sister and I were allowed to stay up until he came home from the store…there was always a box of ice-cream sandwiches or pops, and we were allowed to have one as a treat. And on summer evenings, when the ice-cream truck rolled down the street, playing that calliope melody, my dad would always ask us, “What do you girls want?” Those are memories worth holding on to.

If you’d like more information about Jake’s Sunday Post:

http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/

http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/sunday-post-pleasure/

http://orples.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/weekly-photo-challenge-pleasure/

http://reflectionsinapuddle.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/eat-play-love-sunday-post-pleasure/

http://imagesoftheheart.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/sunday-post-pleasure/

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is LANDSCAPES.

In addition, Marylin Warner over at Things I Want to Tell My Mother is having a February Poetry Contest

The Rules:

“Be a rebel with a writing cause; break away from the expected February verses and write a poem about a date or an activity or adventure that WASN’T what you (or your mother) wanted to do…and how it ended.

You choose: rhymed, free verse, a sonnet or a series of Haikus or even non-bawdy limericks, etc. Just keep your poem to a maximum of 50 words (not counting the words of the title–and please have a title). JOIN THE FUN!”

I began to wonder how I could combine these two seemingly unrelated ideas into one post.

And then I had an idea!

According to the dictionary, a landscape is a picture representing a view or expanse of scenery that can be seen in a single view.

My poem, Fears of the Inner Child, is really a landscape of my life. I hope you enjoy reading it.

FEARS OF THE INNER CHILD

Childhood often invades adult life.

Fears laid down early create later strife.

Afraid of adventure and trying new things,

Mom constantly cautioned: Be careful! Life stings!

To conquer that panic is my fervent wish.

I’ve parasailed, skydived and swum with the fish.

If you have the time and want to see the sky-dive I did with my son in the summer of 2010, you can go here.

It was an amazing adventure…and a wonderful bonding experience to have with an adult son. With my book, Show Me How! and my school programs and workshops, I encourage parents to spend time with their young children…reading, crafting and cooking or doing anything positive. “Raising the Next Steve Jobs”, the cover story in the February issue of Parenting Magazine, offered parents some simple advice: read with your children, talk with your children, participate with your children. I was quoted in that article…and my book was mentioned. You know that if want to be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you need to be in their lives today. The fantastic skydive I did with my son only strengthened the connection we forged over thirty years ago when he was a little boy…believe me, those early years are so very important!

If you’d like more information about Jake’s Sunday Post:

http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/