上周五回到家，
我这个平时对科学并不太上头的人，
居然莫名其妙地开始期待一件事——
等着看四位宇航员，
从返回舱里平平安安地走出来。
——
我第一时间打开各个平台的直播，
还很认真地对比了一下：
哪个更清晰，
哪个更不卡，
哪个最适合投到电视上。
从下午五点，到晚上十一点，
我的脑子几乎没停过。
——
我还提前跟娃儿“谈判”：
“等他们快到地球的时候，电视先借我用一下。”
他一脸不情愿，
但最后还是同意了。
我顺利把电脑投屏到了电视上。
——
接下来，就变成了我一个人的“焦虑直播现场”。
“怎么还没到？七点十分不是应该到了吗？”
“他们不会有事吧？”
我在旁边不停地问，
完全不管这些问题对他来说有没有意义。
——
他其实对这件事一点兴趣都没有，
但还是一边玩，一边回我：
“刚刚已经说了，里面的人没事，你放心吧。”
——
画面里出现几个橙色的东西。
我又忍不住问：
“这四个橙色的是什么？”
他看了一眼，说：
“五个。”
我停了一下：
“好，那这五个是干嘛的？”
他非常自信地来了一句：
“Because it make gravity better, mom.”
我愣了一下。
也不知道他说得对不对，
但当下我选择先点头。
——
后来我才知道，
返回舱落地之后，
还要经过一系列确认和处理，
宇航员才可以出来。
原来不是慢，
是每一步都在确保他们安全回家。
——
那一晚，我们两个其实什么都不太懂，
但还是一起坐在那里，
从头看到尾。
像两个什么都不懂的小孩，
又好像在一起见证一件很大的事。
——
那一刻我突然有点感慨——
人类真的很厉害，
宇宙也真的很大。
而我们就这样，
在一个普通的晚上，
坐在客厅里，
看着他们一点一点，
回到地球。
婷妈的亲子日常 创作于 2026.04.16
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 Journal | 234. The Night We Waited for the Astronauts to Come Home
Last Friday when I got home,
as someone who isn’t usually that into science,
I found myself strangely excited about one thing—
waiting to see four astronauts
walk safely out of the return capsule.
The first thing I did was open multiple livestreams,
carefully comparing them:
Which one was clearer,
which one lagged less,
which one would be best to cast onto the TV.
From 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.,
my mind barely stopped.
I even “negotiated” with my son ahead of time:
“When they’re about to reach Earth,
can I use the TV for a while?”
He looked reluctant,
but in the end, he agreed.
So I happily cast my laptop onto the TV.
After that,
it basically turned into my personal “anxious livestream.”
“Why aren’t they here yet?
Weren’t they supposed to arrive at 7:10?”
“They’ll be okay, right?”
I kept asking questions out loud,
not really caring whether any of them made sense to him.
He actually had zero interest in any of this.
But he still responded while playing:
“They already said the people inside are fine.
Don’t worry.”
Then a few orange shapes appeared on the screen.
I couldn’t help asking:
“What are those orange things?”
He took a quick look and said:
“Five.”
I paused:
“Okay… so what are those five for?”
He answered very confidently:
“Because it make gravity better, mom.”
I froze for a second.
I had no idea whether he was right,
but I nodded anyway.
Later, I learned that
after the capsule lands,
there’s a whole series of checks and procedures
before the astronauts can come out.
It’s not that things are slow—
it’s that every step
is making sure they come home safely.
That night,
neither of us really understood much of what was happening.
But we still sat there together,
watching it from beginning to end.
Like two people who knew almost nothing—
and yet, somehow,
like two people witnessing something important.
And in that moment,
I felt something quietly settle inside me—
Human beings are incredible.
And the universe is vast.
And there we were,
on a very ordinary night,
sitting in our living room,
watching them,
little by little,
make their way back to Earth.
Tingma’s Parenting Journal
Written on April 16, 2026
Originally published on: tingtingma.com
Written for my child,
and for every adult who is still growing.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Originally written in Chinese by the author.
This English version was translated with the assistance of ChatGPT.