by Ann Ferguson

My Son Is Picking Up These Principles!

Today I took my granddaughters to the park while my son was in drama class. It just didn’t make sense to bring two energetic little girls into a theater setting, especially when there was a park right across the street—and it was a beautiful day!

The park was buzzing with activity, and it didn’t take long for Olivia, my three-year-old granddaughter, to make a new best friend. Before I knew it, they were deep in an imaginary adventure, running away from the "lava monster" like they'd known each other forever.

Meanwhile, I followed the 18-month-old as she toddled around the playground—climbing, swinging, sliding—doing her own thing. 

Then, in a flash, Olivia and her new friend were off—hand in hand—running across a large grassy field. I called her back, but she just sprinted farther away and yelled, “I want to see the princesses!” Turns out, there was a wedding party on the other side of the park, and in her eyes, the bride and bridesmaids were the most enchanting real-life princesses she had ever seen.

Her sister wasn’t about to miss out. “Wait, I wanna see dem!” she yelled, launching herself down the slide and chasing after them.

It was such a sweet moment. I loved watching their pure excitement. But then I checked the time: I had ten minutes to wrangle both girls into the car and pick up my son from class. Cue the adrenaline.

Now, I’d like to point out that my granddaughters are fast. So fast, in fact, that I once got a gym membership just to improve my odds of catching them when they take off. And now here I was, facing an open field and two sprinting toddlers… on a mission to see royalty.

Time to activate Super Grandma Mode.

One of the bridesmaids had given them ribbons to play with. I told the girls they could keep the ribbons if we said goodbye and got in the car right now. That did the trick! They couldn’t wait to show Mommy their treasure.

We picked up my son, drove home, and were all ready for some mac-n-cheese and a Disney movie. I was feeling pretty proud of myself—it had been a great day. That is, until I reached into the car for my purse… and realized it wasn’t there.

Instantly, my heart sank. I had left it on the bench by the playground. In the rush to herd the girls across the field and into the car, I had completely forgotten it.

I’d put it down when we arrived, grabbed just my keys and phone, and never went back for it. By now, it had been over an hour. The park was 25 minutes away. My stomach turned.

I turned to my son and said, “Don’t get the girls out. We have to go back.”

He could see the panic on my face. And without missing a beat, he said calmly, “It’s OK, Mom—just picture the purse in your hands.”

It took me a second to process what he was saying. He was reminding me—using the exact mindset tools I’ve been learning and casually mentioning here and there—that it was time to apply the Laws of Thought. Visualize the result.

That snapped me back into the present. I smiled, realizing: He’s been listening. And now we were both about to witness a Rare Faith miracle.

As we drove, I pictured the purse right where I left it—safe on the bench, undisturbed. I imagined the relief and gratitude I’d feel when I picked it up. I mentally felt the outcome I wanted and silently gave thanks. Every now and then, my mind wandered into worst-case scenarios, but I knew better than to feed those. So I turned on our Disney playlist, and we all sang our hearts out. The 18-month-old’s top-of-her-lungs performance kept us smiling the whole way.

As we turned into the park, my son said again, “Just picture it, Mom. It’ll be there.”

And sure enough… it was.

I’m so grateful for that experience with him. It’s something we’ll remember and talk about whenever life throws a curveball. It’s powerful to have someone on the same page.

Now… if only I could get him to picture that unfinished paper of his as completed and submitted to his mentor.
Here’s hoping. 😉

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