Hi, hi, it's me, Contagion. You might remember my former self, Amanda? She's gone now; her main systems have been overridden by a malignant virus. In the place of a functional adult woman/mother, you'll now find a sniffling, shivering, aching, feverish disease vector. Same name. New look!

It's not a good look, that's for sure.

How was your weekend, mamas? I spent mine throwing up on my front lawn. And no, not because I had some crazy all-out party. My stupid immune system decided that this weekend would be the best time to give up the ghost. You know, the exact same weekend that my father-in-law came into town to help us lay a new custom floor in our house. So as soon as the first coat of sealant was rolled on, and I had to leave the house to let it dry, I felt the worst of the virus hitting me. In the gut. Repeatedly.

I managed to scare my toddler away (he was crawling all over my back like I was a carousel horse) moments before booting the Potato Oles I choked down hours earlier. Don't judge, I was delirious with fever and didn't think that food choice through. Hi, new neighbors! Don't mind me, the new girl on the block, wrapped in a blanket and heaving her guts out three feet from the roadside! I am Contagion. Hear me hurl!

That was about 36 hours ago. Last I checked, I still had a low grade fever (100.8 F) and a host of other horrible symptoms. My joints ache like I'm 80. But I'm a mom. There are no days off for moms.

When my son was sick last week, I cleared his schedule. I mean, not like he has a bunch of appointments or business meetings, but still. It was a stay-in-bed and watch-movies-all-day-day. He cuddled me and held my hand, slept hours more than normal, and just wanted sips of juice. I certainly didn't expect him to make dinner for the family, or bathe himself and his sister, or keep the house clean. No one looked down on him because he was a few days behind on laundry or living for his bottle of dry shampoo.

But that's not how the cookie crumbles for moms. When we're sick, the whole family is sick. I mean, not literally - but sometimes yes, that also happens. More specifically, I mean that parents don't get sick days because when we take a day off, things fall apart. All parents, not just moms! Nobody gets the best of family life when one of the people in charge has succumbed to crappy sicknesses.

Luckily, some of the moms I know in the area have offered to drop off soup, help me finish my projects before my upcoming housewarming party, or even just let me come sleep on their couch while my kids run around their house. Without them - without the support of moms who have been there - I wouldn't have made it through this weekend.

Heck, I'm not sure I can yet count myself as having made it through. I guess it depends on how coherent this is when I re-read it after my fever finally breaks.

Who has helped you when you've been a sick mom? What gross illnesses have your cute little virus vectors passed on to you? Tell me at the gnarly details @pi3sugarpi3.