Be Gentle to yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with your soul.
FOUND IN OLD SAINT PAULS CHURCH BALTIMORE, MD 1692
The columns Overdone and Undercooked.com are archived on the website. Author, Shanna Young Eilers.
I have finished my Memoir! A memoir with flexibility changed names.
It starts with Chapter One and just for you – One Page Every Day!
January 1st 2026
When I was young, the only goal I had in life was to marry someone whose last name was at the beginning of the alphabet.
It was pure torture having the last name ZDUNOWSKI. “Zdunowski get in the back of the line!”
Roll call in grade school was like waiting for Christmas.
Roll call in Junior high school was like slamming your finger in a doorway and anxiously waiting for the throbbing to stop.
Roll call in high school?
Well, the day’s I actually went to high school, I stood in the roll call line and watched one after another start to peel away until it was just me and Bobby Yates left as usual.
If only I were not me: Miss Jillie Zdunowski.
Bobbie and I had gone from grade school to high school together. We never had a class together. We never spoke to each other. We were like two hangtails that the pain worsened when you picked and pulled.
I suppose I should not have just given in and had an indulgent wallow in self-pity, however by the time I got to the rest of class I would miss the early part of lectures.
You get it. So why bother.
I ended up just skipping class altogether. That had a lot to do with my bad attitude and worst bad grades.
So, at barely turned nineteen I eloped with my boyfriend since i was sixteen. I did love Nick, but I also loved his last name ALDRIDGE!