Finally, my chance for a good kip ... and I blew it

A trip to Brisbane meant, on the plus side, seeing director Rolf de Heer's film Charlie's Country - seen here at Cannes with actor Peter Djigrr - but on the minus side possum poo on the footpaths.

Sleep, the constant refrain of the parents of youngsters.

I've been away for the week in Brisbane for work and so while I miss my lovely boys, it's only natural to look forward to some undisturbed sleep.

Mr Two is a serial waker. Not sure why, perhaps bad dreams, but at least once a night, almost every night without fail, there's a loud and uncompromising call for "Mum"!

I don't buy into the "let them cry" philosophy - I wouldn't want to be left if I woke scared and uncertain so not sure why I would leave a small child to do so. And being practical, the sooner I get to him, the less likely he is to wake Mr Four.

I was talking with my neighbour about this the other day and she sympathised - not only because she is the mother of young children, but because she can sometimes hear Riley's cries for attention in the middle of the night!

So yes, four nights away should be four nights of solid sleep ... No, not this time.

Instead I have lain awake feeling frustrated at the irony of not sleeping when I could. I guess it's bad habits combined with a stupid head cold and a rough start after Auckland fog pushed my travel plans around - although I was proud of myself.

I took the imposed opportunity to slow down and enjoyed the lack of rushing reading the newspaper in the sun.

It's also been a fantastic week of work. Working from home as I do, coming up for three years now, means I have many workmates who I have never met, so it's been great excitement putting faces to names. It's also meant an opportunity to make big progress with projects through face-to-face meetings, so my wee brain has been over-stimulated.

One of the reasons I timed the visit with this week was to be part of the launch of our company's first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

A RAP is a commitment to being part of closing the gaps between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians in terms of life expectancy, health, education, employment and recognition.

Through coincidental timing, I also got to attend a film fundraiser for Oxfam. Charlie's Country is a slice of life drama about an Aboriginal man living in the Northern Territory. David Gulpilil won best actor in the "Un Certain Regard" category at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and he is outstanding.

Being in Australia again - we lived in Perth for nearly five years - feels like, dare I admit it, a bit of a homecoming. But there's one thing that's hard to get used to - seeing possum poo on the footpath!

Brisbane has changed in the years since I last visited. It feels like a stylish gourmet sort of place - and I've done my share of eating while I've been here!

I finally met in person my colleague Rachel Smith, a cycling aficionado, and as we made our way out for dinner, we dodged cars in poorly designed carparks. Not a lot of evidence of cycle-friendly streets where I'm staying and working.

Rachel is midway through her year of not buying anything new and I was impressed to learn her challenge goes as far as not buying second-hand items too. That's a true challenge to our consumerism lifestyle.

I am not as disciplined and felt the shops calling to me, but only slipped once with a small purchase at makeup shop MAC, Lorde's face splashed outside, promoting her signature lipstick. There's always a New Zealand connection to be made and their Kiwi colleague had just finished up working there to start as Lorde's personal makeup artist. Plus I learnt that MAC has a recycling programme - return six used lipsticks and get one free. Only five to go ...

Fashion and sustainability may seem unusual bedfellows, but some of my Green Party friends are showing off their incredible finds at op shops on Facebook with pics of them campaigning in quality second hand gears - check out The Glam Green Opshop Challenge.

Nicola Young is a former Department of Conservation manager who now works for global consultancy AECOM. Educated at Wanganui Girls' College, she has a science degree and is the mother of two boys.