The relationship between Cathy and Mom in the strip is the one relationship drawn from real life that I have proudly never even tried to disguise.
Cathy GuisewiteEach of us wages a private battle each day between the grand fantasies we have for ourselves and what actually happens.
Cathy GuisewiteSo often, happiness is the extent to which we balance our grandiose expectations with reality.
Cathy GuisewiteThe specific story line that people have responded to the most has been the horror of bathing suit shopping.
Cathy GuisewiteI'd love to see more equal representation of female and male cartoonists on the comics page.
Cathy GuisewiteCartooning is a wonderful career, and I'd like more women to get to have it. I can't think of any reason why we won't see more syndicated female cartoonists in the future.
Cathy GuisewiteMothers send strips to daughters to make a point. Daughters smack strips down on the breakfast table to make a point. My own mom sometimes cuts a strip out and sends it to me to make sure I understand her.
Cathy GuisewiteWhere's my tax form? Where's the file that's supposed to hold my W-2 form and interest statement? Where's the mileage log I specifically asked be kept last year?? Where's the monthly check summary? And who's been stuffing Visa receipts in the aluminum foil drawer??!! How embarrassing. I'm surrounded by idiots and I'm the only one in the office.
Cathy GuisewiteThere are self-awareness groups, to help you discover who you really are ... encounter groups, to help you deal with who you really are ... assertiveness training groups to help you stand up for who you really are ... Suddenly, the only way to become an individual is to join a group.
Cathy GuisewiteI have an office in my house and one about five minutes from my house. I worked solely out of my house for many years, but find, with children, that I have to be in a different ZIP code to think.
Cathy GuisewiteI was going to sip on a diet soda, but a little voice convinced me I needed the extra calcium from a cup of hot chocolate.
Cathy GuisewiteI'm lucky that my real-life Mom has both a great sense of humor about herself and an amazing ability to slip into complete denial if the subject matter gets a little too close to home.
Cathy GuisewiteAfter 14 years of dieting, there are only two things I've never lost. Hope and weight.
Cathy GuisewiteMy dog was with me all the time. I talked to my dog. She was my best buddy. I shared all my secrets with her, but I don't think I every really tried jokes out with the dog.
Cathy GuisewiteIn the '80s, I thought I'd be a success as a woman if I were the president of a billion dollar company, had a sensitive soul-mate husband, two bilingual children, buns of steels, and a compost heap. In the '90s, I pretty much feel I'm a success if I can get through the afternoon without eating a cheesecake.
Cathy GuisewiteFood ... love ... mother ... career ... Live every day to the fullest. Partake of the four basic guilt groups.
Cathy GuisewiteSmall wastebasket liners, $1.17 ... tall wastebasket liners, $2.29 ... garbage can liners, $3.98 ... I think I just spent $7.44 buying something I'm going to throw away.
Cathy GuisewiteBecause the majority of my readers are women, I feel that one public service I can provide to them is to spread the message of regular mammograms and early detection within the strip.
Cathy GuisewiteCathy was the first widely syndicated humor strip created by a woman. The strip was pretty revolutionary at the time not only because it starred a female, but also because it was so emotionally honest about all the conflicting feelings many women had in 1976.
Cathy GuisewiteMy mother had always taught me to write about my feelings instead of sharing really personal things with others, so I spent many evenings writing in my diary, eating everything in the kitchen and waiting for Mr. Wrong to call.
Cathy GuisewiteBreaking up: It's so easy to return their possessions, but so hard to get our brain cells back.
Cathy GuisewiteWhat happened to the good old days of "Woman as passive recipient?" What happened to being courted? What happened to sitting back under a parasol and granting someone a chance to try to win us over?
Cathy GuisewiteI'm more financially successful, but it just means the shopping blunders I make are bigger now.
Cathy GuisewiteA young bride can put on makeup at 6 in the morning and look fabulous at midnight. I have about a 15-minute window where I actually look good, and then I have to wash my face and start over.
Cathy GuisewiteEvery time I get something under control in my own life, the world provides more material.
Cathy GuisewiteOtherwise, my whole career has just been flinging myself at whatever is most overdue first and letting everything else stack up.
Cathy GuisewiteImagine my surprise when, after a lifetime of teaching me to keep personal things to myself, Mom insisted my drawings were the start of a comic strip for millions of people to enjoy.
Cathy GuisewiteNow I'm searching for a slightly overweight, single, childless woman who doesn't have a date and isn't too depressing to be around. It's getting harder to find a girlfriend than a boyfriend.
Cathy Guisewite