Flicked on the shower this morning and was waiting the obligatory 15-20 seconds to let it warm up when the phone rang.
Distracted, I took the call only to be disturbed a few moments later by the insistent tugging of the nearly five-year-old son at my sleeve.
I motioned him to be quiet (we're having a battle at the moment about not disturbing Dad when he's on the phone) but he refused to be deterred. I was about to tick him off but he cut me off mid-sentence.
"Dad," he said, in that tone of voice his parents reserve for telling him off, "The shower is running. The water's getting wasted and we can't waste water in the city."
It was a moment that left me feeling initially depressed, then slightly proud, then faintly hopeful, then depressed all over again. Let me explain.
Depressed? Well, it's a sign of the grim times for our planet when pre-schoolers are worrying about something as basic as water, a commodity which my generation never even thought about at his age.
When I look at my kids like my son and wonder what kind of place the world will be when they are my age - about 2050 - I find myself wondering if me and my family shouldn't just open the balcony doors of my 16th floor apartment and do the planet a favour by jumping out.......
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