Yesterday was one of those days when I swore my head would explode before the clock struck noon. It was a day which called for a littleDeployment Rage Syndrome (DRS), but there was just one little problem - my husband isn't deployed. So, since I couldn't just that very reasonable and justifiable excuse, I bit my tongue, clenched my jaw and didn't make a scene which would later horrify me (and my family).
While I was in the depressingly long line at the post office, I noticed something that began to irk me to the core.
Scores of people walk into a post office totally and utterly unprepared. That, I came to understand, is why the line was so long. There were people who were actually boxing items up at the counter, people who were sending certified mail yet didn't have their forms completed, people who didn't know what they should have done and needed to do in order to get mail from point A to point B and people standing in line for stamps when the stamp machine (which takes cash, debit and credit cards) was featured prominently inside the post office. One man, no joke, began to assemble a priority mail box in line, realized his stuff wouldn't fit and left the partially assembled box on the counter instead of returning it to its proper place. Now that's just laziness.
As I stood and watched what was nothing less than a circus, I realized that I had rarely seen these types of things occur at post offices on or near post. Yeah, I realize that there's a first for everything. First time you send certified mail. First time you send insured mail. There are times when you do need assistance. But there's no way that all those patrons were first-timers and even if they were, there's really no good excuse for bringing stuff in a target bag into a post office, popping in and out of line in search of an appropriate box and upon reaching the counter not having your item sealed and addressed. Here's a novel idea - step into the post office and off to the side, get your stuff packaged and addressed, then get in line. When my husband is deployed, I enter the post office with the box stuffed, sealed, addressed and proper customs paperwork filled out and ready to go, as do most military families I've seen. Click N' Ship is your best friend, folks....
Twenty of the twenty-five minutes I spent in line could have disappeared if people had walked in prepared to do business. Perhaps milspouses need to offer a course on post office etiquette. It would be an excellent public service.
And to top off my little experience, my total when I finally reached the counter and checked out?
$6.66.
Yep, it was that kind of day.....
Ahhhhh - felt good to get that little rant off my chest.
Don't worry. I'll try to refrain from cranky postings for a while.
Strapping the big girl panties back on right now. Oh my, they seem a little tighter than usual.....
