I normally don’t watch TV in the morning (with the exception of a few minutes of the Weather Channel), but I’m making an exception this morning. Drew switched on CNN last night so we could see the beginning of the Chilean mine rescue. I unfortunately didn’t keep up to date with this current event. I knew there were miners trapped and were going to be rescued soon, but that was the extent of it. When we turned on the TV, it became more real.

We watched as one brave, crazy man stuffed himself into a shoulder width capsule (escape pod, as one of the commentators called it), and descended into the earth. I can’t even begin to imagine the 15 minute trip into the core of the earth in this tight little thing. I’m not typically claustrophobic, but if I was ever going to be, that would be the time!

I learned all the things I had failed to keep up with about this amazing story. How 33 miners had been trapped in a 500 square foot space for 69 days. How people from all over the world had come to help, including NASA, who was invaluable in their psychological help for the miners. How Germany gave a tough cable that is used on their ski lift for use on the escape pod. How some of the miners had to jog and exercise to be sure they’d fit in the capsule. How they had to have a liquid diet (the kind NASA gives to astronauts) before ascending in the capsule so they wouldn’t feel nauseous. How the Chilean president was right there for the rescue.

There was a camera in the mine, and as the brave rescuer finally arrived, we watched as all the miners embraced him. There was a Chilean flag in the mine, as well as a light, the only source of light they had. Then, the first miner was suited up with extra clothes (the mine was 90 degrees and on the surface it was cold… being winter in Chile) and sunglasses (to help their eyes adjust to the bright lights) and stuffed into the capsule. For a very long 15 minutes, the world watched, the TV commentators talked about anything they could to kill time. The crowd gathered nearby waved flags and sang the national anthem.

I told Drew it was hard to watch. My stomach was in knots. It felt real, but it also kind of felt like a movie. I had to remind myself it wasn’t a movie, and that things could go wrong. This may not be the miraculous recovery we all envision. Drew then told me they are on a 30 second delay feed, just in case something goes wrong, they can cut the feed. Yikes.

Fifteen long minutes later, we were still waiting. I had to pee, but wasn’t going to budge until that miner was safe. Finally, the wheel stopped turning, and the capsule emerged from the ground. The first miner stepped out, looking a bit dazed and confused. His wife and son stood nearby, and the son, who had remained composed while waiting, burst into tears at the first sight of his dad. He embraced them, the crowd cheered, the President beamed; it was a glorious moment.

We didn’t want to turn the TV off. It was awesome. We finally made ourselves turn it off, as it was nearly midnight. We turned it back on this morning and found that nine miners had been freed. Now, as I watch it, 12 have been freed. So far, all has gone perfectly. They showed some old feed from previous miners that had been freed, and one emerged from the capsule and opened a bag and handed out rocks from the mine as souvenirs to the crowd. He held his arms up in victory.

I love stories like this. After so many sad news stories about war and death and rape and murder and drugs and all things sad and overwhelming, it’s wonderful to have an uplifting story with a happy ending. As I watch the miners reunited with family, I tear up.

It also reminds me of how good I have it. These poor men have been stuck in the harshest conditions for three months. I have a hard time sleeping if my memory foam isn’t settled just right. They’ve been sleeping on rock. How spoiled I am.

I’m having a hard time tearing myself away. I’d sit here and watch this all day, if I could.