A Question for You...

What is the last thing that made you smile?

I have a reason for asking this. By the time I arrived home with the children this evening I felt completely wiped out. Both physically and emotionally. If I could have had one wish, it would have been to disappear into a big bed for several days.

But in a family with young children there is always something to be done, and disappearing into bed is not one of them. So I got on with the next thing on the list, which was making dinner. Just as the potatoes were boiling there was a knock at the door. It was my friend Manu, (see 6 February 2012), who had just come back to Somero from Masku. He didn't want to stay, he didn't even want to come in actually, he just wanted to drop us a loaf of beautiful fresh bread which he had picked up for us in a bakery.

There was no reason at all for this - except that he had thought of us and wanted us to share in enjoying this bread with him. And believe me, we did. It was delicious. And not only that, the fact that Manu had thought about us made a lovely end to an otherwise difficult day. So that is my answer to my own question. My friend Manu bringing us a surprise loaf of bread was the last thing that made me smile.

I would love to hear about the last thing that made you smile - so let me know, either on here or through Facebook, and if I receive any contibutions I'll add them as they arrive. Wishing you all a peaceful evening.

THE LAST THING THAT MADE ME SMILE IS...

Watching my daughter Charlotte and her friend Anna (visiting us at the moment from Finland). They are giggling on the sofa and talking about what they did in town yesterday. Young people have a love of life... It reminded me of my own youth! (Marjut Blomqvist)

Carrot Cake. I've been ill and not able to eat much at all, so today when I ate it, it was my realisation that I was on my way back. And it tasted nice. (Rob Wood)

Today when I heard my colleagues talking about their young children who are just beginning to talk and learning to explain their point of view on things. (Katy Henner)

My Dad turning up from England as a surprise on Monday! (Lucie)

Watching big, fluffy snowflakes in the desert southwest of the US. A rare occasion here. (Nancy Hamilton)

My lovely nephew Robert, who has arranged everything for my mother, who has just been admitted to hospital for reasons which are unclear to me, so that she has a bedside phone, so that family members know she is there and (approximately) what is going on, and who has offered to go in and feed her cat - I didn't exactly jump for joy, but there is great happiness in knowing that Robert and others like him will do the right thing. Lots of love Robert. (Jane Griffiths)

Your sons! (Edina Pillok)

Finding the photos and looking through all the memories of UK life....full of smiles made me BIG smile. (Mio Matsukawa)

A smile exchanged, in mutual sympathy, with another cyclist as I made my way to work in the cold today. It made me think about the importance of friendly contact between strangers in creating a sense of community. (Margaret)

There is this bunch of people in Tumblr who are all Rise of the Guardians role-players, and they have made up an alternate universe where every character lives in London and they are all connected by Starbucks (some work there, some are regular customers, some are friends with workers etc.). I'm part of this group but so far I wasn't that sure if I belonged (since I have the only character who is my up by me and is not based on those from the movie or the book series) or not but yesterday I got invited in group Skype chat and now we are all joking around about our characters. I feel happy and smiling ^^ (Katri)