As a student of human nature, I often wonder why anyone goes on family holidays. I pondered the matter again recently, when we took the kids to southern Italy. Naturally, it rained almost solidly every day. There were moments familiar to any parent, like the deflating sound of an exhausted child waking up at 6.20am; the attempt to explain Pompeii to a three-year-old; or the evening we walked forever to the restaurant we’d read about, ordered food, and then watched the children fall asleep at table before the meal arrived. Yet by the time easyJet landed us home, I think I’d figured out why people take family holidays – and, by extension, why they have families.
作为一个对探究人性感兴趣的人，我常常想不通一个问题：为什么会有人举家出游？最近，我们带几个孩子去意大利南部度假的时候，我再次思考了这个问题。几乎每天都下雨，这是意料之中的。还有每个家长都很熟悉的事情：比如早上6点20分，本来筋疲力尽的孩子就已经醒了，吵得你无法继续睡；比如跟一个三岁的小朋友解释庞贝古城；又比如晚上我们长途跋涉，来到书中介绍过的餐馆，点了菜，却眼睁睁地看着小朋友们在菜上来之前就倒在桌上睡着了。然而，当易捷航空(easyJet)载着我们回到家的时候，我想我已经知道为什么会有人带孩子出游了，我甚至理解了他们为什么要孩子。