Well, I've read all these and I appreciate all points of view. I'm objective like that. I see that the vast majority of you seemed to focus more on the fact that a Christmas card was sent out of season rather than the fact that the card was sent by someone who had a cold (in this case, my sister) and that's ok too.

Of course, I do have sympathy for my very dear sister (we are very close) and I certainly do hope she gets well soon but I don't think I need to show my gratitude to her by getting sick myself. I can still love her without accepting her card and possibly exposing myself to her cold.

I know that sounds very callous and mean but that's just one of my pet peeves. There are those people out there who feel sorry for people with colds and flues and will hug and kiss them and try to make them feel better by doting over them. Then, there are those people (like myself) who become very defensive when people who are sick come anywhere near me. I just think a lot of people out there don't bother to take the necessary precautions to prevent spreading thier colds by not washing thier hands, touching everything in sight, visiting people or going to work while still sick and infecting everyone else.

I guess my pet peeve started when a friend of ours came over to visit about 10 years ago and while he was sitting there on our sofa hacking his guts out, he happened to mention that he had been sicker than a dog with the flu for weeks and had had a temperature of 105.2. He kept blowing his nose, hacking up stuff and spitting it into the toilet. He got us BOTH so sick that they almost had to take me to the hospital and pack me in ice. I've never been so sick in my life and it lasted forever. The next time he showed up he was still sick and I was so mad at his inconsideration and unthoughtfulness that I ran him off and told him not to come back until he was completely well again.

Then there was the kid at Wal-Mart one time who was running through the isle hacking and coughing all over everythinmg in sight and I got sick from that.

Anyway, I guess I'm ranting now but this is just something I feel very strongly about. Just like some people feel strongly about abused kids or animals or religion, this is something I feel strongly about.

Anyway, thank's for all the replies and good night