Public Apology To A Delta Employee . . .

It is official.  I have a serious case of flyer's anxiety.  As in I'm up the night before and I feel queasy when I step into the airport with my four children in tow and my armpits start to sweat profusely and I get dizzy and generally confused to the point where I revert to a child-like state myself.  It is disturbing.

So can I use that as my excuse for being rude and impatient with a kind older fellow working for Delta Airlines in the Salt Lake City Airport? I mean, we were late getting out the door due to much cherished {albeit slightly prolonged} goodbyes to dear grandparents, so my stress level was already slightly elevated.

And then the Hubby left me alone while he went to return the rental car - and by alone I mean that I was managing eleven bags, one stroller, four children and the flyer's anxiety thing.  So, when the kind Delta man insisted that I use the electronic kiosk to check in, even though I assured him that it wouldn't work and that I needed to speak to an agent at a desk personally to explain a slight mixup, I'll admit, I heaved a great sigh, shot him a somewhat crusty look and dragged my caravan of craziness through a throng of busy travelers while barking commands at my mulitple offspring with added emphasis to make Mr. Delta appreciate my struggle.

Four attempts {and fifteen precious minutes} at the kiosk yeilded the same message from the computer: "Your flight cannot be processed.  Please see a desk agent for assistance."  So I marched back, circus a-followin' and proudly told my Delta friend that I was right and he was wrong.  He wanted to go through the kiosk process with me, but I refused and told him forcefully that I didn't have time for that! So I got in the 30 minute line to a desk agent huffing, puffing and sweating like a hog.

A few minutes {and no movement} later, the still calm Delta employee handed me the boarding passes for myself, Hannie B and RedDog.  He then explained that because the Hubby and Big C had the same first name {did you know?} and no middle initial had been indicated, the computer thought the same person was trying to buy two tickets and that they would need to see a desk agent no matter what.

Instead of thanking him for his help - and it was helpful - I snapped that he should have just let me in the line in the first place.

Because of his kindness, when the Hubby finally joined me, I was able to take Hannie B, RedDog and Ollie up to the gate immediately. And then I was able to get a seat for Ollie in our row so he wouldn't have to sit on my lap.  And then all my anxiety melted away and we ended up having a truly blissful flight home which included a long nap for Ollie and a short nap for myself.

But my guilt at how I treated that man remains.  So here it is, in case he's reading:

I am sorry for how I reacted in what was to me a very stressful situation, Mr. Delta.  Please forgive me for not treating you with the kindness and calm manner that you showed me.  I am a wreck of a mom and human being in airports and will seek professional help if possible. And I will try to do better next time by leaving all of my children at home.  Thank you for listening.

PS.  Lots of trip recap to follow in between loads of laundry.