I remember someone telling me once that when a baby gets sick that, for a typical illness, they will stumble a little, get up, and keep right on playing.  But if mom or dad is unlucky enough to catch that same virus, it will knock them into another orbit.  Our older bodies will multiply that virus and lay us flat on our back.  And seeing us on our back, our kids will want to come over and use us as a human trampoline.

I have a fairly robust immune system.  Working in germy schools for several years had given me a lot of immunity to the typical childhood ailments.  Kate and Connor are fairly healthy kids.  **I AM KNOCKING ON WOOD HERE** Neither have had an ear infection in their entire lives, Connor has never run a fever in his 15 months, and aside from the very occasional mild cold we are usually healthy. 

This weekend taught me a lesson in the exponential power of illness between child and parents.  One of us brought home a stomach virus that is going around like wildfire. 

I will spare you the gory details, but our weekend went something like this:

Connor - gets sick once, decides life is too short to be bothered with being sick, and keeps on destroying playing in the living room.  Time of illness - 5 minutes.

3 hours later...

Kate - gets sick after her nap.  She needs a little more attention, cuddling, and mild foods.  By dinner she is totally happy and thrilled to be alive.  Time of illness - 3 hours.

9 hours later...

John - wakes up in the middle of the night feeling "hung over".  Gets sick a few times, comes back to bed.  Needs the morning to sleep it off.  Time of illness - 10 hours.

During this I am cleaning up a lot, TRYING to stay healthy with the help of hand washing, Clorox, and prayers.  And purely willing myself that I won't get sick.  I think all of us mothers have made that "mind over matter" vow...  Willnotgetsickwillnotgetsick familyneedsmefamilyneedsme willnotgetsick...

Literally, the moment John muttered "I'm feeling better" the floodgates opened and I got SICK.  Like sicker than I have been in memory.  I couldn't even keep a sip of water down.  The same virus that caused my son to basically roll his eyes and pause for like, 3 minutes, left me lying on the bathroom floor wishing to die.

Total time of illness - 48 hours.  I couldn't eat, drink, and basically slept for two days.  I was down longer than my three family members combined.  And I am still feeling queasy and not quite ready to resume my normal eating and exercise routine.
 
Sick to the exponential power.