Lessons for life

As the step-mum of two teenaged boys (an hilarious concept, still), it often transpires that some gem of wisdom pops into an everyday moment to create a wonderful learning opportunity. This isn't boring End-Of-The-Episode-Everybody-Say-'Awww' advice, but actually useful stuff, like: "If you're only going to dry a few things on the dish rack, do the cutlery because it's most likely to show water marks".
It's best, I find, to insert these sparkling moments of sage learnedness on the fly, with a hearty whiff of jocularity lest it come off as preaching and/or harping (both of which certainly have their place in family life but must be used judiciously, rather like the ultra-hot Paprika I accidentally purchased when intending to buy mild).

This weekend's advice for life? "Always make sure to regularly invite friends to your home, for it forces you to clean." 
Plus, those invitations mean you get to host wonderful dinner parties with great friends, involving much laughter, good wine, and the beautiful proof that leaving a city does not mean leaving a world.

And these things are what make life wonderful, no matter where you're living it. Lesson for life.