The inspiration for this blog post came from a section in Emily Post’s ‘Etiquette’ book on Hosts and Guests: Time to Say Good-bye. In it, Post reminds her readers that “all good things must come to an end, and well-mannered guests will know when to depart.” Before I continue, I want to make clear that this topic is not being addressed for any reason other than the fact that I thought the information provided in this section was hilarious (so if you know me, don’t rack your brain trying to figure out if you made this faux pas at my house). In fact, I fear that I might occasionally be the ill-mannered guest who overstays their welcome and I am most definitely the host who usually tries to get people to stay longer (“you can’t leave, we haven’t played Just Dance on the Wii yet”).

In case you are in…