Etiquetteer is prostrate in bed ill, which feels Terribly Inconvenient. But it is better to be prudent about canceling social engagements with sufficient notice than to rush about “sharing.” So here’s Etiquetteer encouraging you all to be honest about your symptoms and to cancel at least 24 hours before.
Wintertime is usually when more people get sick and keep going around spreading sickness to others - the gift that keeps on giving. This is also when people do either one of two things: they cancel an engagement at the last minute because they feel too sick to go out, or b) they go out in spite of being too sick, and pass on their sickness to others. Neither of these approaches is Perfectly Proper.
Make the decision to cancel in time for the others in your party change their plans; 24 hours is good. People hold off; they think “Oh, but I might feel better by then.” Fuhgeddaboudit! You may very well NOT, and even if you do, cementing your recovery with a bit more rest and relaxation isn’t such a bad idea. Relapses can be so ugly, don’t you think? And Etiquetteer would hope that you’d feel terrible about infecting others. NO ONE needs you to be Typhoid Mary, Larry Barry, or Carrie . . . or Harry.
So thank you in advance for putting the good health of others - and yourself - ahead of other considerations. Just please do it in advance!
Thank you kindly for you attention. Now get well soon.
