As a single parent you never dreamed that you wouldn’t get to spend every single holiday with your child. Having to share birthdays and holidays can get rather complicated sometimes. No matter what you do, someone is left missing your child. For some of us this gets even more complicated because of when our children’s birthdays fall. My son happened to be born on his father’s birthday, causing things to be a little more difficult now that we’re divorced. According to the statute here in Utah the parent’s birthdays aren’t taken into account, so we are supposed to alternate just like any other holiday, but whenever it comes around emotions are high.
A friend of mine is in a similar situation. His daughter’s birthday happens to fall on Mother’s Day this year. What do you do when birthdays fall on holidays like this? Who gets your child? Do you split the day? This is one of those times when it becomes extremely important to communicate with your ex. See what you can do to come together. You both love and want to be with your child, so it is important to be able to meet in the middle somewhere. This always seems harder on holidays. Even though we could just as easily celebrate the day before or the day after, there is something about having our child on the holidays that we just cling to.
If you are at the beginning of your divorce journey talk to your lawyer about what to do when things like this come up. Be as specific as you can in your divorce decree so that there is never any question when conflicts arise. It will save you and your ex a lot of heartache later as you are trying to figure out what is fair for both of you. Holidays are hard, but do what you can to make them special for your child, no matter who they are with.