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Dr Peter Downey describes himself as “outstandingly ordinary”.
He lives in a red-brick house in a leafy suburb with his wife, Meredith, and three children, Rachael, Georgia and Matilda.
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Sure, he started out with a dream of stardom and rock’n’roll granduer but this gradually gave way to dinner parties, mowing the lawns and in time, getting up at 2am to change a stinking nappy. On top of that, he’s started wearing cardigans and now drives an eight seater commuter van.
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| Peter married his teenage sweetheart Meredith when he was twenty four. He was totally unprepared for the “United Nations” diplomacy and organisational skill required for a few hours of
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wedding celebrations… but that was nothing compared to the shock of learning to live with another person in a confined space.
“I thought that working out which side of the bed I got was a biggie… ha, ha!” says Peter. “Soon I realised that while being married is romantic and great, it’s also hard work which requires effort and time.”
His experiences would eventually form the basis of Everything a Bloke needs to know about Marriage a book for guys getting married.
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Within two years he was somewhat stunned by the unexpected arrival of Rachael.
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“I had no idea about babies or pregnancy or anything like that,” says Peter. “When Meredith told me she was pregnant, I was literally lost for words and developed that feeling that French revolutionaries got just before the guillotine made a life changing journey towards their neck.”
So disgusted and bored was Peter with the stiffness and unreadability of available fathering books, that he decided to write his own, So You’re Going to be a Dad… written specifically for ordinary guys like him.
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“Around that time, Meredith and I realised we were as fertile as the Nile Delta, so we started sleeping in separate sleeping bags, just to make sure,” said Peter.
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But that didn’t last long. Now firmly entrenched in his suburban malaise, Georgia was born soon after,closely followed by Matilda.
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Peter - once a bastion of adolescent behaviour - found himself the father of three girls.
After an embarrassing pre-school concert (which he doesn’t mention in mixed company) where Peter had to strut his stuff on the stage while making animated chicken wings, he again hit the keyboard to produce Dads, Toddlers and the Chicken Dance, a book for dads encountering toddlerus destructivus for the first time.
And that’s the story so far… Other miscellany?
Dr Peter Downey has a Bachelors degree in Education, a Masters degree in Arts, a Doctorate in Education and a Diploma in Biblical Studies. How eclectic!
He likes Thai food and beer, playing Uno or computer games with his kids, having time alone with Meredith and writing. He likes Science Fiction and has always had a weak spot for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone movies. He’s a Christian with a very real faith in God. He doesn’t like television, cable, casinos or mobile phones. He runs regularly and lifts weights three times a week although his friends tell him he’s putting on weight! Ah the rich tapestry of life.
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