有天晚上，我一边刷牙，一边低头玩手机。
结果被娃儿看到了。
他立马很严肃地提醒我：
“你不能一下做两件事！”
我一边放下手机，一边下意识替自己解释：
“我只是不想浪费片刻！”
结果话一出口，我自己先愣了一下。
突然意识到：
咦？说好的“享受当下”呢？
怎么现在连刷牙都想顺便利用起来了。
想到这里，我自己都忍不住想偷笑。
结果一抬头，发现娃儿已经默默拿起了我的手机，一本正经地看起了我刚刚正在播放的视频。
而且居然看得比我还认真。
我瞬间笑出来。
还有一天晚上，我突然感慨了一句：
“你知道吗？如果妈妈现在已经很有钱了，我可能就想早点退休了。因为我不想自己的时间一直被别人买走。”
娃儿立马接话：
“可是你退休后，就没钱赚了呀！”
我笑着解释：
“还是会有钱啦，比如我可以靠投资赚钱，但拿到退休金那是六十岁以后的事情了。”
结果没想到，他下一句突然特别认真：
“你觉得当老师不好吗？你可不能不当老师啊！”
我赶紧替自己辩解：
“我不是不想当老师啦，我其实还挺喜欢我现在工作的。”
因为我真的很好奇。
去年他明明还建议我：
“你可以转行啊，比如开餐厅当老板，这样每天都有钱进来。”
于是我问他：
“为什么不能退休？”
结果娃儿一本正经地来一句：
“因为你如果不当老师了，那他们就不能从你这里学到东西，不能学到东西，就傻了呀！”
我当场笑翻。
但笑完之后，心里居然暖暖的。
原来在孩子眼里，
妈妈的工作，
是有意义的。
不是“赚钱工具”，
而是真的在帮助别人。
那一刻，我突然觉得：
好像这份工作，
也没那么只是“被时间买走”。
至少，它也在悄悄留下些什么。
想到这里，我默默在心里给自己点了个赞。
嗯。
既然这么有意义。
那多干十几二十年，
好像也没什么问题。
婷妈的亲子日常 创作于 2026.05.16
原创发布： tingtingma.com
写给孩子，也写给正在成长的大人。
未经授权，请勿转载。
《Tingma’s Parenting Diary | 254. Brushing Teeth and Retirement》
One night, I was brushing my teeth while looking down at my phone.
Of course, my son noticed.
He immediately reminded me very seriously:
“You can’t do two things at once!”
As I put my phone down, I instinctively tried to explain myself:
“I just don’t want to waste even a moment!”
But the second the words came out of my mouth, I paused.
Suddenly I realized:
Wait… what happened to “living in the present”?
How did I end up trying to optimize even the time spent brushing my teeth?
The thought made me want to laugh at myself.
Then I looked up and realized my son had quietly picked up my phone and was now seriously watching the video I had been playing.
And somehow, he looked even more focused than I was.
I burst out laughing.
—
Another night, I suddenly said to him:
“You know, if Mommy were already very wealthy right now, I think I’d want to retire early. Because I don’t want my time to always be bought by other people.”
He immediately replied:
“But if you retire, then you won’t make money anymore!”
I smiled and explained:
“I’ll still have money somehow. For example, I could make money through investing. But retirement money usually comes much later, like after sixty.”
To my surprise, he suddenly became very serious and said:
“Do you think being a teacher is bad? You can’t stop being a teacher!”
I quickly defended myself:
“It’s not that I don’t want to be a teacher. I actually really like my job.”
Because honestly, I was curious.
Just last year, he had suggested:
“You could change jobs. Maybe open a restaurant and become the boss, then money would come in every day!”
So I asked him:
“Why can’t I retire?”
And he answered very seriously:
“Because if you stop being a teacher, then people can’t learn things from you anymore. And if people can’t learn things, they become dumb!”
I laughed so hard.
But after laughing, my heart suddenly felt warm.
I realized that in my child’s eyes,
Mom’s work matters.
It’s not just a way to make money.
It’s actually helping people.
And at that moment, I suddenly felt:
Maybe this job isn’t only about having my time bought away.
Maybe it’s also quietly leaving something meaningful behind.
Thinking about that, I silently gave myself a little pat on the back.
Hmm.
If it’s that meaningful,
Then maybe working another ten or twenty years
Wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.
Tingma’s Parenting Diary
Written on May 16, 2026
Originally published at: tingtingma.com
Written for my child, and for the adults who are still growing.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Originally written in Chinese by the author.
This English version was translated with the assistance of ChatGPT.