I am someone who can readily compartmentalize. I have neat little boxes in my head of things that are both great and bothersome that I can keep seperated from one another. It’s a great tactic and coping mechanism. It means that even if one issue resolved I tend to readily be able to put ot aside and work on another issue and not get bogged down.

Well, that was the old me and maybe now the new me. The year 2020 is the “in between” me. Everything went topsy-turvy in that year for almost everyone. So be it. New year. Hopefully new frameworks. But I did have a hard time with some of my mind boxes. There was spillage and fraying at the edges of the compartments. I suppose that is in part referred to as ruminations. Or the result of ruminating. Thoughts cane fast and furious in 2020. Time to slow down and box things back up neatlt. But perhaps that need not be so. Some have noted to me that they feel compartmentalizing isn’t necessarily healthy. I still need convincing of that.

Yet, let me note this whole bit has thus far been a distraction. Or rather a digression. I just had really wanted to talk about a slight injustice that occurred decades ago that still bothers me. What compartment it belongs to is beyond me at the moment.

Years ago, I attended boarding school. And they were very strict about missing a class. If you did there was like a whole tribunal court. I kid you not. One day, I developed a severe headache and then nausea. I missed my class. But I did not make it to the infirmary during the class time. I had been feeling too weak. Eventually a few hours later I made it to the infirmary and they kept me overnight, diagnosed with gastritis. I was vomiting non-stop. I was severely ill.

Fast forward a month. Despite having been sick, in my report card they noted I had an unexcused absence. I was livid. I had been severely sick and the medical records showed that. However, because I ended up in the infirmary after the scheduled class it was counted as an unexcused abscence. I felt that was beyond ridiculous but couldn’t convince the powers that be otherwise. The unexcused abscence had no repercussions. Except that in my mind I felt betrayed by a horribly rigid system.

Now, why I am recounting and reliving thus story? I really cannot answer. It just popped up in my mind this morning like these zits coming from wearing masks. I suppose one of my compartments has been having some spillage. Time to tuck it back it.