“妈妈，你很贪婪。又说钱了。”
我愣了一下，笑着回他：
“可以说钱啊，我哪里贪婪了？
生活中哪一样不需要钱——
水、电、网要不要钱？
吃的要不要钱？”
他听完，哈哈大笑。
没有反驳。
算是默认我说得对。
这几天春假，其实被各种事情切得很碎。
电话一个接一个：
当侦探，
联系医生，
联系保险公司，
联系律师……
很多时间，都被这些事情消耗掉了。
也没有办法，好好陪他玩。
“妈妈，这个司机明明开得很快，车都撞成那样了。他居然说只开十迈每小时。”
他停了一下，很认真地说：
“他在撒谎。你快联系警察，让他改。
起码有六七十迈吧。”
我说：“没关系，我们也有证人。”
过了一会儿，他又问：
“妈妈，attorney是不同的人吗？
是不是你之前说的那位？”
我笑了一下：
“这个就像老师、医生一样，attorney是一种职业。
我到现在还没真正跟attorney说上话。”
我顺口也跟他说了一下这几天在处理的事：
“这个人Jose没有BI，
保险公司也不愿意帮我们查他有没有其他保险，比如商业险、伞险这些。所以我们可能只能找律师。”
他愣了一下：
“伞险是什么？”
说完自己还笑了。
我说：
“伞险就是一种额外的保险。
如果对方没有BI，但有其他保险被查出来的话，就可以赔我们的医疗费用。如果什么都没有，那可能我们就只能认倒霉了。”
“那我希望他有伞险，这样我们就不用自己出钱付医疗费用了。”
他安静了一会儿。
然后，突然问了一个完全跳跃的问题：
“妈妈，你一年赚多少钱？”
我愣了一下。
然后说：
“一般来说，我们不能随便问别人赚多少钱。但你是我儿子，我偷偷告诉你，所以没关系。”
我想了想，换了个方式跟他说：
“老师其实赚得不算多。
我这么跟你说吧，美国平均家庭工资大概是六万五，我们会比平均水平多一点点。”
他点了点头，又开始算：
“那你一个星期能赚一千吗？”
我说：
“这个不太好算。我现在拿到的钱，也不是全部收入，里面已经扣掉了你的学费、吃的、保险、退休金、税这些。”
我本来以为话题就结束了。
结果他完全没打算停。
“那就先按一个星期一千算。”
他开始进入自己的逻辑世界。
“那一年有几个星期……不对不对，不能这么算。”
他自己推翻自己。
“从八月份到五月份是几个月？”
我说：“九个月。”
“那九个月几个星期？”
我说：“一个月四个星期。”
他几乎没有停顿：
“那九个月就是三十六个星期。”
“如果一个星期一千的话，三十六个星期就是三万六。”
那一刻，我有点愣住。
不是因为数字。
而是因为他整个过程——
没有卡顿，
逻辑非常清晰，
一步一步推出来。
更让我意外的是：
他开始关心“钱”这件事了。
但他没有评价：
不说多，也不说少。
只是很平静地算出来。
那一刻我突然意识到：
这个小小的人，
又开始在用他的方式——
理解这个世界的运作了。
他没有被钱定义，
但他开始理解钱。
而我也在慢慢学会一件事：
不是急着给他答案，
而是陪他一起，
把这个世界，一点一点看清楚。
婷妈的亲子日常 创作于 2026.03.27
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。
Tingtingma’s Parenting Journal 216 | He Started Calculating How Much I Make in a Year
“Mom, you’re greedy. You’re talking about money again.”
I paused for a second, then smiled and replied:
“It’s okay to talk about money. How am I greedy?
What in life doesn’t require money—
Water, electricity, internet—don’t they cost money?
Food—doesn’t that cost money?”
He listened, then burst out laughing.
He didn’t argue.
I guess that meant he agreed with me.
This spring break has actually been quite fragmented.
One phone call after another:
Playing detective,
contacting doctors,
calling insurance companies,
reaching out to lawyers…
A lot of time has been taken up by these things.
And I haven’t really been able to spend quality time with him.
“Mom, that driver was clearly going fast. The car was that damaged. How could he say he was only going ten miles per hour?”
He paused, then said very seriously:
“He’s lying. You should contact the police and have him correct it.
It had to be at least sixty or seventy.”
I said, “It’s okay. We have witnesses.”
After a while, he asked again:
“Mom, are attorneys different people?
Is it the one you mentioned before?”
I smiled:
“It’s like teachers or doctors—‘attorney’ is just a profession.
I haven’t actually spoken to one yet.”
I casually explained what I had been dealing with these days:
“This person J doesn’t have BI,
and the insurance company isn’t willing to help us check whether he has other coverage, like commercial insurance or umbrella insurance. So we might have to find a lawyer.”
He paused:
“What’s umbrella insurance?”
Then he laughed at himself.
I said:
“Umbrella insurance is an extra layer of insurance.
If the other person doesn’t have BI but has other coverage that we can find, it could help pay for our medical expenses. If there’s nothing, then we might just have to take the loss.”
“Then I hope he has umbrella insurance, so we don’t have to pay for the medical bills ourselves.”
He went quiet for a moment.
Then suddenly, he asked a completely unrelated question:
“Mom, how much do you make in a year?”
I froze for a second.
Then I said:
“Usually, we don’t ask people how much they make. But you’re my son, so I’ll tell you quietly—it’s okay.”
I thought for a moment and explained it differently:
“Teachers don’t actually make that much.
Let me put it this way—
the average household income in the U.S. is around fifty to sixty thousand, and we’re a little above that.”
He nodded and started calculating:
“So can you make a thousand a week?”
I said:
“It’s not that simple. What I receive isn’t my total income—it already has your tuition, food, insurance, retirement contributions, and taxes deducted.”
I thought that would end the conversation.
But he had no intention of stopping.
“Then let’s just assume one thousand a week.”
He entered his own world of logic.
“How many weeks are there in a year… no, no, that’s not how I should calculate it.”
He corrected himself.
“From August to May—how many months is that?”
I said, “Nine months.”
“Then how many weeks is that?”
I said, “About four weeks in a month.”
Without hesitation, he said:
“Then nine months is thirty-six weeks.”
“If it’s one thousand a week, then thirty-six weeks is thirty-six thousand.”
At that moment, I paused.
Not because of the number.
But because of the process—
There was no hesitation,
his logic was clear,
step by step, he worked it out.
What surprised me even more was this:
He has started to care about money.
But he didn’t judge it—
not too much, not too little.
He simply calculated it, calmly.
In that moment, I suddenly realized:
This little person
is once again using his own way—
to understand how the world works.
He is not defined by money,
but he is beginning to understand it.
And I am slowly learning something too:
not to rush to give him answers,
but to sit with him,
and figure out this world—
little by little.
Tingma’s Parenting Diary
Written on March 27, 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.