Christmas Eve I went to a friend's home for a get together. There were about 20+ people in attendance. A handfull of them were visibaly ill, with sniffles and coughing. We all had a great time. I had planned a similar party at my home for New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, half of my intended guests, who had been at the Christmas cellebration are now ill, and I am coming down with the creeping crud. A coincidence, or cause and effect? I have cancelled my event for fear of infecting my healthy friends.

In this flu season, if you are under the weather, please stay home and call your greetings to the atendees on their cell phones. Don't share your misery with your friends. We will understand.

Pardon me, I left the I out of etiquette.

Agreed! I catch colds and flu very easily, and now that I'm pregnant I really don't want to be sick, in case it will hurt my baby.

I don't know what happened... I'm not that old (26), but when I was younger, it seemed like it was more expected that you would stay home when you were ill, at least for the first couple of days, so that you wouldn't infect anyone. No one seems to do that anymore. It's like go go go all the time, just take some cold medication and who cares if you're contagious. And a lot of people have seemed to forgotten about covering their mouth when they cough, or using a tissue when they feel a sneeze coming on. Actually I think it's a symptom of how fast-paced society is now. People don't even bother to stay home from work if they're sick, or their bosses won't let them or they can't afford it. So it just naturally extends to the rest of their lives. Which is too bad really, because the best way to get better soon is to stay home and rest.