The Afterword

Tag: blog

  • A Brief History of Gainful Employment

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    Peter
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    Delivery boy — Technically, my first job. I was a prescription mule for the local pharmacy, zipping around on my bike like a budget courier with zero insurance. Kept me fit. Also gave me thighs of steel. Rifle range target marker — Nothing quite says “occupational hazard” like sitting in a bunker in front of…

  • You Make More of a Difference Than You Think

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    Peter
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    Every now and then, I try to take stock. Just an honest look in the mirror. What have I been given? What am I growing into? What can I offer? I’m not naturally comfortable answering the question, “What are you good at?” It feels like walking a narrow ridge between false humility and quiet pride.…

  • Let’s Talk About Tension

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    Peter
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    When I hear the phrase “work-life balance,” I get uneasy. It conjures images of perfect equilibrium—neatly arranged schedules, harmonious transitions, nothing out of place. But that has never felt real to me. My experience is far closer to a game of Whac-A-Mole: get one thing under control and another pops up. Harmony, if it comes…

  • The Ring I Never Take Off

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    Peter
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    The oldest thing I’m wearing today is my wedding ring. It’s been nearly 39 years since I first slipped it on—a simple gold band with a bevelled edge, unchanged by time, though life has changed around it many times over. New homes, different cities, changing routines. We’ve faced health scares, taken long-awaited holidays, chased goals…

  • Not Later, But Now

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    Peter
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    For a while now, I’ve carried a quiet intention:to spend more time in nature — not just walking through it, but working with it.To be part of something restorative, to give back to the land in small, steady ways. I’ve told myself that this kind of thing belongs to the “next season” of life.When things…

  • A Job for One Day, A Longing for More

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    Peter
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    There’s something meaningful about watching an animal return to the wild. After weeks or months of care—feeding, tending injuries, creating safe spaces—it comes down to a simple moment: a gate opens, and the animal walks or hops or flies back into the world. I’d like to be there for that. For a day. Maybe more.…

  • What I Can’t Stop Writing About

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    Peter
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    So here we are: blogging about my blog. A reflection on the reflections. I know—it’s a bit meta. But I think there’s something fitting about pausing to ask, What am I really talking about, underneath all this talking? Because the truth is, I like to write. And in all these stories and afterthoughts, there are…

  • Who will you be? How will you live?

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    Peter
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    What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s a question I’ve heard all my life — first directed at me, then at the next generation. It usually expects a job title, something neat and impressive. But what if the better question is: Who will you be? How will you live? That question…

  • On What Makes Me Nervous

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    Peter
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    It’s not fear that shaped me, not really, not in the way some people mean it. I was never afraid of change, not even as a kid, though I didn’t chase it either. I’ve stayed where things mattered. By the time I’m done, I’ll have worked in four places over forty years, and that sounds…

  • When the Storm Came

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    Peter
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    When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Robert Menzies College (RMC) at Macquarie University, Sydney, found itself in a uniquely higher-risk setting. As a residential college, we faced a heightened potential for contagion. But rather than respond with fear or retreat, we chose to step forward—digging deep into our identity as a Caregiver institution. RMC has always…