“That was me” are three of the hardest words to say and three of the most respected.

Owning something out loud is hard because it hands other people the right to be annoyed at you with no cushion in between. That is also why it lands: everyone present knows how much easier the alternatives were. Respect tends to attach itself to whoever ends the guessing.

Say it early, before anybody has to go looking. Three words, then the fix you are proposing. Skip the decoration, because reasons are what turn an apology back into a defense.