The Man in the Rocking Chair

My older son has always had a remarkable ability to attract animals—they seem to be drawn to him wherever he goes. One late March morning when he was about 5 years old, we went out for breakfast, and as he sat at the diner table gazing out the window, he suddenly exclaimed, “Mommy, there’s a toad outside and he needs my help.” Given that there was still a dusting of snow on the ground, I was skeptical at first. But he called me over, and sure enough, a tiny toad was sitting just outside the window. My son immediately went outside, carefully scooped the little toad up, and placed it under some bushes in a grassy area for safety. His connection to animals has always been extraordinary—he once caught a wild chipmunk in his hands during a cottage vacation and brought it up to the deck to show me. He seems to find creatures effortlessly, without even looking for them.

I vividly recall two moments from when he was very young, under the age of three. Once, I was changing his diaper at the top of the stairs leading to the basement. A few steps down, there was a carpeted landing. My son kept staring down the stairs and said in his early broken English, “I see puppy.” I asked, “Where do you see a puppy?” and he replied, “On stairs.” I couldn’t see anything there myself, but he was certain. About a year later, one night as we cuddled in his toddler bed, I noticed he kept smiling at his rocking chair. Curious, I asked him what he was smiling at, and he said, “There’s a man in my rocking chair, and he’s smiling at me.” It was then that I realized he also had the ability to see spirits.

Years later, after I had shared some of my own experiences with him, my son opened up to me about his own encounters. He described seeing animals running along the inside of his windowsill and mentioned a chipmunk that would come visit him. On another occasion, in the middle of the afternoon, he saw a figure in a dark hoodie move from the center of the living room into the wall of our TV room. That particular experience really frightened him. The next day, we sat down together, and I explained to him that he has a special gift—a superpower that most people don’t realize they have. I reassured him that it was perfectly okay to feel afraid, and I told him that these visitors were likely his guardian angels or local spirits checking in on him. I also reminded him that he has control over who comes to visit and that he could tell them to leave at any time.

I will always support and encourage my children's intuitions. I often reassure them when they get a "gut feeling" or a sense of knowing, and remind them to trust in these messages. In our soul, we already know.