I got chicken pox from a girl that I babysat. She was 7; I was 17. My sister caught them from me. She was 15. Our cousin caught them from us. Eventually, the girl I babysat's little brother got them. I got them in June. There is a 3 week lag between being exposed and when you start showing symptoms. My sister and I were scheduled to go to Europe July 11th with our choir for a competition and my sister was JUST not contagious by the time we left. I remember the director having the whole choir at a rehearsal and asking who has had chicken pox or not. It was very close that we might not go. (Turns out, we won the competition we went to in Vienna!) Being 17, I had a seizure from a fever. Nobody had any parties. We did not want to get chicken pox. As I recall, it was not pleasant, but not horrid either. I got them everywhere!