"Really? This is all I got for Christmas this year?"

Now, I know I am not the only parent who has ever heard this. But I heard it almost every year when my now almost 27-year-old daughter was a child. She complained that she could never have a party, that she didn't get enough presents, and that no one wanted to sing "Happy Birthday" to her.

So, it sounds like she was raised by wolves you say? Or in a foreign country? No, just that her birthday falls on Dec. 26. Ahhh, now you get it.

We all take our birthdays for granted. We look forward to them because that day is all about ME. We get presents, and cake and a song with our name in it, and usually a party of some sort.

Somehow I managed to have three children that all have to contend with their birthday falling either on or very close to a holiday. And I don't believe in "half-birthdays." I won't win "Mom-of-the-Year" AGAIN this year.

So my oldest, a son, Jordan, was born on April 7. And every seven years, or so, his birthday falls on Easter. Kind of hard to invite someone over for a party on Sunday, when all other families are eating ham or turkey and looking for eggs.

Halsey, my oldest daughter, is the Christmas-time baby, and I have never lived that one down. Face it; it's hard to hold a party that time of year, because everyone is busy, and the parents have already spent any "present" money on their own kids.

Mikaela, at 13, is actually the luckiest. Born on Sept. 1, her birthday does fall on Labor Day occasionally. But really, the only problem we've had there is that school starts about two weeks before that, and it's kind of hard to get a birthday party in when everyone is school shopping and getting organized for a new year. Thank goodness for the fact she is now too old for Chuck E Cheese.

My birthday is Jan. 21. Just a month after Christmas, but about three weeks before Valentine's Day. Kind of a curse.

My almost 94-year-old mother's birthday is Jan. 3. Happy New Year! And I'll even throw in my ex-husband — Jan. 1. Stop already!

My stepson creeps in on Aug. 26 — not a holiday — but close to Mikaela's birthday and Labor Day. My husband, Mike, is close, but no cigar; June 29 — a few days away from fireworks.

And Rayleigh, my granddaughter, has a birthday the day before Valentine's Day. However, that birthday is not my problem. Her future husband will just have to deal with that one.

And we did sing "Happy Birthday" to each and every one of them, no matter what day of the year it fell on.

Sue Wallace, of Chesterfield, is a regional advancement officer for Rockhurst University in Kansas City. She enjoys music and the theater (as both spectator and performer), spending time with her family, buying things she doesn't need on eBay and Facebooking.