I'm not sure where we moms got the notion that we should put everyone else first, but as soon as I finish packing my kids' lunches, reattaching this button, supporting my husband through his mom's recent illness, and putting together this report for the PTA, I'm going to figure it out. Oh. Wait....

I'm sick. Oh, nothing major -- we're not talking about a chronic disease or even something respectable like pneumonia -- just a garden-variety virus. It's enough to make me miserable and feverish but not enough to make it acceptable for me to simply opt out of my responsibilities. And frankly, it sucks.

Mother's Day is just around the corner, and today BlogHer is launching a series called "Mother Knows Best". We're inviting you to join us in celebrating the best things our mothers taught us. In the comments section below, or on your own blog, post about the best lessons you learned from your mom. We'll all learn something!

Once upon a time, in a land long ago and far away, I was a first-time new mother to a beautiful baby girl. She was gorgeous and brilliant and charming (as all babies are in their parents' unbiased opinions) but she had one flaw -- she was a terrible sleeper. And so it was that whenever the dreaded words "Daylight Savings" came up, I embarked upon a week-long regimen of calculated 15-minute shifts in our routine, desperately hoping to counteract the effects of an already-finicky slumberer knocked off her precarious grip on a healthy circadian rhythm.