What do you do when seasonal "bugs" upset holiday plans?

I got myself ready for a church service....drove there...walked all the way from the parking lot to the church.....opened the door to a very huge crowd in an auditorium like setting....experienced a strong perfume odor coming from the room....forgot my mask.....and thought.....not good. SO I turned around and exited. I did not want to chance it. We have to do what we have to do to keep ourselves as healthy as possible and not let our guard down when our 'gut feeling' is whispering to us....."This isn't a good thing to experience just now."
Hope we all have a healthy and enjoyable holiday season and days.
Barbara

@blm1007blm1007 I'm so sorry you missed the service, but you undoubtedly made the right decision for you. I don't know how to describe our church except to say our members are exceptionally aware of their neighbors, so this has never been an issue for us, nor have we ever felt out of place foregoing hugs or wearing masks.
Last night was precious as a trio of young siblings were chosen to carry the Baby Jesus and two (electric) candles to the manger with the priest. Before the Mass, they were dancing around in the vestibule, but the moment the lights went down they were so solemn!
And after 50 years with the same music directors, they have retired and our new team brought a wonderful new energy, mixing traditional carols with some new ones. And the soaring voices just lifted my spirits.

Happy Holidays all! My husband and I drove from Ct to Fl so we avoided airports to spend the holidays with my 95 year old Mom. Our plans to spend Christmas with my sister’s family was derailed when they all got covid. They tried to convince us that they were not contagious since it was day 10 but we cancelled and spent Christmas at my brothers instead. My Mom wanted to meet her 11th great grandchild that is visiting my sister from Tx so we decided to meet up at an outdoor park tomorrow to exchange gifts and meet the new baby. Hopefully we will all stay safe and germ free. Then we drive back home and have Christmas with my husband’s family of 65 people, yikes! RBL

I’ve done the same as you a couple times-delayed plans to reduce exposure. It’s disappointing, but does make the joyful season last longer. I hope you get to enjoy them soon!

I find my family and I have gotten more lax as time goes on and I’m healthier. (This is the first time in 20+ years that I have had a year without a few episode of bronchitis, sinus/ear infections!) I just realized I forgot to turn on air purifier yesterday when family was over and I skipped a few things/meds this week. I’ll shape up!

Barbara, I’m sorry you missed the service, but I think you made the right choice.

@pacathy Cathy - I try to avoid being lax, but I have developed my own set of standards that I am pretty strict about. I try to follow Dr Jennifer Honda's advice about picking the few most important protections and "letting the rest go" - so far it seems to work for me.
Here are my big ones:
Good diet of mainly fresh foods, very little processed.
Air purifiers run 24/7/365 and I am fanatical about masking up and changing the filters twice as often as recommended. (We do have visiting furry grand-pets.)
Likewise, the 2 water filters - 1 micron & .2 micron directly under the kitchen tap - are changed often.
I religiously use my Symbicort and other meds, plus a few select supplements.
We buy our 3M KN95 masks in bulk, use them ONCE and discard - in crowds, in doctors' offices, on planes, doing yard work... no sense trying to protect yourself, then carrying germs around in your pocket. These are under 10 cents each on Amazon - be prepared for a BIG box: (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J1THV9G)
I rest or sleep when my body tells me to (this is new for me - I always had to do/finish everything.)
Postpone or bow out of activities when I feel rundown or like I may be on the verge of illness.

Like you, I have been exacerbation free all year - doesn't it feel wonderful?

@pacathy Cathy - I try to avoid being lax, but I have developed my own set of standards that I am pretty strict about. I try to follow Dr Jennifer Honda's advice about picking the few most important protections and "letting the rest go" - so far it seems to work for me.
Here are my big ones:
Good diet of mainly fresh foods, very little processed.
Air purifiers run 24/7/365 and I am fanatical about masking up and changing the filters twice as often as recommended. (We do have visiting furry grand-pets.)
Likewise, the 2 water filters - 1 micron & .2 micron directly under the kitchen tap - are changed often.
I religiously use my Symbicort and other meds, plus a few select supplements.
We buy our 3M KN95 masks in bulk, use them ONCE and discard - in crowds, in doctors' offices, on planes, doing yard work... no sense trying to protect yourself, then carrying germs around in your pocket. These are under 10 cents each on Amazon - be prepared for a BIG box: (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J1THV9G)
I rest or sleep when my body tells me to (this is new for me - I always had to do/finish everything.)
Postpone or bow out of activities when I feel rundown or like I may be on the verge of illness.

Like you, I have been exacerbation free all year - doesn't it feel wonderful?

@pacathy Cathy - I try to avoid being lax, but I have developed my own set of standards that I am pretty strict about. I try to follow Dr Jennifer Honda's advice about picking the few most important protections and "letting the rest go" - so far it seems to work for me.
Here are my big ones:
Good diet of mainly fresh foods, very little processed.
Air purifiers run 24/7/365 and I am fanatical about masking up and changing the filters twice as often as recommended. (We do have visiting furry grand-pets.)
Likewise, the 2 water filters - 1 micron & .2 micron directly under the kitchen tap - are changed often.
I religiously use my Symbicort and other meds, plus a few select supplements.
We buy our 3M KN95 masks in bulk, use them ONCE and discard - in crowds, in doctors' offices, on planes, doing yard work... no sense trying to protect yourself, then carrying germs around in your pocket. These are under 10 cents each on Amazon - be prepared for a BIG box: (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J1THV9G)
I rest or sleep when my body tells me to (this is new for me - I always had to do/finish everything.)
Postpone or bow out of activities when I feel rundown or like I may be on the verge of illness.

Like you, I have been exacerbation free all year - doesn't it feel wonderful?