拔完牙出来，满脸都是脏脏的。
我以为他肯定哭了。
没想到，居然没哭。
其实，我第一感觉不是他不痛。
而是，他不敢哭。
我想，他肯定很痛。
于是，我给了他一个拥抱，对他说：
“你太勇敢了。”
在车上，他突然说起很喜欢朋友的新家。
我知道，上次去朋友家玩，他脑袋里装的都是美好的回忆。
可突然间，他又忧愁善感起来。
他说，唯一不好的事情，就是那位邻居小朋友妈妈去世的事。
我当时确实提到过，没想到就这样印在了他的脑袋里。
想起前两天晚上，我告诉他，听到我朋友父亲过世的消息，我很难过。
现在她妈妈也生病了，需要她照顾，她肯定也很难过。
没想到，娃儿问了一句：
“你去年说过的那个朋友的爸爸吗？”
原来，他还记得我去年跟他分享过的一件关于另一个好朋友的事。
我其实已经忘了自己跟他说过了。
我回答：
“不是那个朋友，是另一个。”
然后我又加了一句：
“人老了，都会这样的，都会很难过。”
回到刚刚车上的感慨，我就想换个开心一点的话题。
我想起昨天银行那位工作人员问我，像我们这样当老师的，暑假有没有工资。
她说，她有一个朋友，暑假没有工资，所以会很被动。
我问娃儿：
“你知道妈妈暑假有工资吗？”
娃儿想都没想，来了一句：
“有！”
我猜，他可能之前就已经想过这个问题了。
我很好奇，接着问：
“你怎么知道的？”
娃儿来了句：
“You can work hard to not work hard!”
我听到这句英文，不得不服。
于是，趁着红绿灯，我赶紧在手机上做了笔记。
因为这么有创意的话，我肯定是说不出来的。
就是说：
“你可以很努力地工作，然后让自己不用那么努力地工作。”
就像一些成功学大师说的那样：
“很多人没有想过花五年努力，去赚未来五十年赚的钱。”
我想起这个口号，再联想到刚刚娃儿说的话，不得不服。
他咋啥都知道呢！
这会儿还聊得好好的。
没想到，不到十分钟，他已经哭得昏天暗地了。
我只能一路安慰他：
“知道你很痛啊。”
“我们再过十分钟就到家了。”
“再过五分钟就到家了。”
婷妈的亲子日常 创作于 2026.06.12
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 | 286. After the Tooth Extraction
When he came out after the tooth extraction, his face was all messy.
I thought he must have cried.
But surprisingly, he hadn’t cried at all.
In fact, my first thought wasn’t that he wasn’t hurting.
It was that he didn’t dare to cry.
I knew he had to be in pain.
So I gave him a hug and said,
“You were so brave.”
On the way home, he suddenly started talking about how much he liked his friend’s new house.
I knew that his last visit there had left him with lots of happy memories.
But then, all of a sudden, he became thoughtful.
He said that the only sad thing was that the little neighbor’s mother had passed away.
I had mentioned that before, but I never expected it to stay in his mind.
It reminded me of a conversation we had a couple of nights earlier.
I told him that I had heard the news that my friend’s father had passed away, and it made me very sad.
Now her mother is also sick and needs her care. I told him that she must be having a very difficult time.
To my surprise, he asked,
“Is that the friend whose father you told me about last year?”
It turned out that he still remembered a story I had shared with him a year ago about another close friend of mine.
I had completely forgotten that I had ever told him about it.
I answered,
“No, not that friend. A different one.”
Then I added,
“When people get old, these things happen. It’s always very sad.”
Thinking about his sadness in the car, I decided to change the subject and talk about something happier.
I remembered that yesterday, a bank employee had asked me whether teachers like us still get paid during the summer.
She told me that one of her friends doesn’t get paid during summer break, which makes life very difficult.
So I asked him,
“Do you know if Mommy gets paid during the summer?”
Without even thinking, he answered,
“Yes!”
I guessed that he had probably thought about this question before.
Curious, I asked,
“How do you know?”
He replied,
“You can work hard to not work hard!”
When I heard that sentence, I had to admit I was impressed.
At the next traffic light, I quickly made a note on my phone.
A line that creative would never have come out of my own mouth.
To me, it meant:
“You can work really hard now so that you won’t have to work so hard later.”
It reminded me of those motivational speakers who say,
“Most people never think about working hard for five years to earn what could support the next fifty years.”
Thinking about that saying, and then about what my son had just said, I couldn’t help but admire him.
How does he seem to know everything?
We had been chatting happily just a few minutes before.
Then, less than ten minutes later, he was crying his heart out.
All I could do was comfort him the whole way home.
“I know you’re hurting.”
“We’ll be home in ten more minutes.”
“Just five more minutes, and we’ll be home.”
Tingma’s Parenting Diary
Written on June 12, 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.