Mr. and Mrs. Pinkley and their children always scheduled Family Fun-time on Sunday afternoons.  They would pack up a picnic and go to the park or rent rowboats on the lake.  If it was rainy or a high pollution day, they would go to the bowling alley or watch a movie and get ice cream afterwards.  All of the children looked forward to Family Fun-time. 

 

Well, everyone but Pamela Pinkley.  Pamela preferred to spend time by herself.  She loved her family, but she found the long afternoons of Family Fun-time to be exhausting. She would rather stay in her room reading a book, or practice playing her flute, or perfecting her calligraphy.

 

One Sunday, as the family prepared to leave, Pamela said, “I think I’ll stay home today.” “NOOOO,” said her family, “you HAVE to come or it won’t be Family Fun-time.  Family Fun-time is not optional – it’s mandatory.”  When Pamela saw how upset her family was about her not coming she thought for a minute.  “I love my me time, but I love my family, too. I can have every afternoon to myself but on Sundays, it family time.”  “OK,” Pamela said smiling, “Let’s go have some Family Fun-time!”

 

平克利夫妇和他们的孩子总是在星期天下午安排家庭娱乐时间。他们会打包去野餐，去公园，或者在湖上划艇。如果是雨天或空气污染的日子里，他们会去保龄球馆或看电影，然后去买冰淇淋。所有的孩子都盼望着家庭时光。

 

但帕梅拉·平克利和大家不一样。

 

帕梅拉喜欢独自呆着。她爱她的家人，但她发现漫长的下午家庭娱乐令她筋疲力尽。她宁愿待在自己的房间里看书、练习吹长笛，或是练习书法。

 

一个星期天，全家人准备离开时，帕梅拉说：“我今天想呆在家里。”

 

“不啊，”她的家人说，“你一定要来，否则就不叫家庭娱乐时间了。”和家人在一起，不是由你选择，而是必须的哦。“

 

帕梅拉看到大家因为她不参加家庭欢乐时间有点生气。她又想了一会儿，“我爱独处的时间，但我也爱我的家人，我可以每天下午独处，但在星期天是家庭时间。”

 

“好吧，”帕梅拉微笑着说，“我们一起享受家庭时光吧！”