A rare day: we'd expected that the children would have football practice (yes, that's soccer, in the non-civilized world) this evening -- there has been a regular schedule of TTh practices, and when we have "matches" that usually just replaces a practice. But this week there's only one match, on Thursday, so we assumed that there's be the regular practice.
LOML took the children down to the school at 6, while I ran to the grocery store to pick up some extra food, so that we could extend leftovers to friends. I was surprised a few minutes later to return and see LOML's car, and four children in the back garden instead of the regular two.
So we had an evening without an activity, a pleasant surprise, and a pleasant visit with people we hadn't seen much of recently: a chance to chat and catch up.

Yours, in favour of gentle, pleasant surprises,
N.