Defy your own group. Rebel against yourself.Collection: Funny
I'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.Collection: Humor
Cathy 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.Collection: Humor
I wanted Cathy and Irving to actually say 'I do' and be pronounced husband and wife on Feb. 5, which is my mom's birthday.Collection: Birthday
Food, love, career, and mothers, the four major guilt groups.Collection: Funny
Because 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.
All parents believe their children can do the impossible. They thought it the minute we were born, and no matter how hard we've tried to prove them wrong, they all think it about us now. And the really annoying thing is, they're probably right.
I never thought Cathy would get married in the comic strip. And I also thought I would never get married.
My 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.
Imagine 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.
The specific story line that people have responded to the most has been the horror of bathing suit shopping.
Mothers 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.
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.
The specifics of Cathy's and my life are different now, but the basic life challenges are exactly the same.
I'm married, which means that instead of occasionally wondering about men from afar, I actually live with one and can be constantly astounded by the strange male brain.
Otherwise, my whole career has just been flinging myself at whatever is most overdue first and letting everything else stack up.
I 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.
Cartooning 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.
My 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.
I had such a close relationship with my dog, and my dog so filled the need in my life to have children that I just wanted Cathy to have that experience.
A lot of married people certainly have wonderful relationships with their dogs, but when you're single and your dog is the only other living thing in your house, it's a really special relationship which I wanted CATHY to have.
Generally, I liked feeling able to connect with millions of women on a very deep level. It felt special that women especially would cut out my strip and place it on a refrigerator.
I wasn't intending to create a comic strip to begin with. So I think I wasn't aware that when the strip started, there had never been a woman's voice quite like this in the newspaper.
I never thought Cathy would get married in the comic strip. And I also thought I would never get married in real life. So both are shocks to me.
A 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.
When life gives you lemons, squirt someone in the eye.Collection: Eye
Each of us wages a private battle each day between the grand fantasies we have for ourselves and what actually happens.Collection: Reality
Everyday is a new beginning and a chance to blow it.Collection: Life Lesson
The story of a mother's life: Trapped between a scream and a hug.Collection: Mother
After 14 years of dieting, there are only two things I've never lost. Hope and weight.Collection: Years
Sometimes the best Christmas present is remembering what you've already got.Collection: Christmas
All mothers have intuition. The great ones have radar.Collection: Inspirational
Men date. Women have relationships.Collection: Men
I can't tell my conscience from my insecurities.Collection: Insecurity
What 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?Collection: Winning
There are only two secrets to a slimmer shape ... High heels and shoulder pads!Collection: High Heels
Men should come with instruction booklets.Collection: Men
I 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.Collection: Voice
One day, in 1982, for 15 minutes, my hair was perfect.Collection: Hair
Now 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.Collection: Friends
I understand the sensitivities of grown children with little ones of their own!! They'll turn away a mother full of advice, but they'll never say no to one holding a mop.Collection: Mother