Review, Revision, Edit and Update
To review In a Tizzy, I read it out loud to myself. I found a few sentences, in several paragraphs, that either were awkward to read or were just lacking. My writing challenge was to restructure the sentences in question and maintain the intent. I find that when I have left a revision for period of time, I am not as invested in the words. If I leave it too long, I may not even know what the intention was!
In a Tizzy
Nibbling at the edges of her intention to stay as far away from exposure as possible from the Covid19 virus was her worries about this new situation. Ever since the episode at the hospital with Em’s long lost daughter, Dez Eliot had been more wary than ever. It was certainly not Jeremy’s fault that he just happened to be a doctor working on a Covid unit and he just happened to marry Em and she just happened to be her sister. But that’s what it is! Dez knew she could have hidden in her apartment, slammed and locked the door, hiding from everyone, including her sister, until the viral pandemic dust had settled, but she wasn't willing to give in to that wretched feeling of claustrophobic isolation.
Her intention really was to stay safe, not get sick and keep her relationship with her sister solid. Otherwise, Dez was alone in the world. She hadn’t even seen her good friend, Matt Hamilton for weeks, hadn’t even heard from him. She wanted to think it was because it had been winter and he was busy doing winter things for his orchard. Dez practically shouted. “Orchard! I haven’t done a thing about the Estate orchard and spring is around the corner. Now that I’m letting Em stay here and she’s going to be in contact with Jeremy, even if with masks, hand washing and distance, I've been nervous about going out to the Estate very often. But I’ll think about that later.” Dez went to the desk in her bedroom cluttered with books and papers, some from the orchard workshop at Matt’s last summer. She gathered them all up and took them to the living room.
Dez’s television was on low for Public Health updates for Hartley and the Island. A commercial just ended as she sat down on her couch in time to hear “……vaccination rollouts on the Island……” Relief flooded her. Picking up the TV remote, she turned the volume up. She knew that Jeremy, a health care worker and physician on the Hartley General Covid unit, would be one of the first to get the vaccine. The Channel 4 reporter had continued “….will not prevent the disease but will prevent serious illness……” Dez, not a woman who scared easily, had struggled this past year. Usually she stepped right into the fray, but this viral thing was one she chose not to take on. This invisible virus! Why, even in her own building with people she had come to know over the six years she had been there, the halls were usually empty. No gathering in the foyer or middle of the halls to visit. If it did occur, everyone wore masks and kept their distance. Nods and the occasional attempt at conversation had made her apartment building feel like a tomb. It would be such a relief to have Em here…… The Public Health Officer’s voice broke through her thoughts “family members of health care workers may also be considered in the first roll out...”. She sighed and smiled to herself, clicking off the TV, glad that Em would be taken care of as well.
“I hate being in such a tizzy or muddle or just feeling….. a real mess. lf I want to feel comfortable having Em here, my apartment needs a good clean and I need supplies. I love her, I love her, but it’s pretty risky right now. What do I need? More masks - the disposable ones, I’m out of hand soap almost - so that goes on the list - and hand sanitizer for when either of us come through the door. - I suppose we could carry some - no, I do that already and always forget it. A mat for our shoes so we don’t track anything in….” She tapped frantically on her cell phone. “Oh, and a room divider so I can set up a sort of guest bedroom for Em - I think I have one in my storage unit. The building has a cot I can rent….. I’ll have to think about that one. Now, I’d best clean my house and choose a corner for Em’s ‘room’. Worrying about all this stuff won’t get any of it done.” Dez picked up her cell phone and called Your Pharmacy and Grocery Basket and ordered hand soap, hand sanitizer, some Lysol spray and wipes, and two boxes of masks for pick up later in the day.
Scribbling a note on a stray piece of paper, she stuck it on her bulletin board: “Call Matt - see if he’s ok” She was about to put her mask on for her trip to her storage room, when her phone rang and Matt’s name popped up on the screen. Reaching for it, she knocked her cell phone on the floor and scooped it up in one, almost graceful, movement. “Matt? Is that you?!” “Hey Dez how are you?” “Matt! I was just thinking about you. How are you? Where have you been?” A quick chat, they decided to meet in the park. It was a beautiful, almost springlike, day. Matt would bring coffee. Two hours later, after catching up on all their news, their worries, and of course, Emelina and Jeremy’s elopement, there was a pause in their conversation. Dez checked her watch. “Oh, Matt, I have go! I have to pick up some supplies at the grocery store. Can we meet tomorrow for lunch out here? If it raining we can eat over there in the gazebo.”
“It’s OKAY to be scared. Being scared means you’re
about to do something really, really brave.”
~ Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass
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