I am currently experiencing the unrest of family life. My husband is working overseas. The unrest begins at 5am. I hear three-year-old daughter padding down the hallway. No matter the hour, she wants to celebrate her dry nappy with a trampoline party in our bed. Eventually, she drifts back to sleep but by then, I’ve grudgingly accepted that my day has begun.

I plod into the kitchen and squint around for a teabag, then seize the chance to write in the stillness. Six-year-old son wakes at first light because I forgot to close his blinds: “Can we play Snap?” I silently curse the ABC for not showing Sesame Street at 5.30am. I then feel ashamed for wishing this child had stayed asleep so I could work. Does ‘having it all’ mean always feeling guilty about something?