Catherine Tidd

Catherine Tidd is a widow, a writer, public speaker, and mother to three young entertaining children. She received a degree in English from Rollins College in 1998 and has since worked as a writer, editor, Marketing Manager, and Event Planner. Originally from Louisiana, Ms. Tidd currently lives in Denver, CO.

Articles:

Grieving Through the Holidays

Grieving Through the Holidays I know I’m not the only one who is feeling the effects of the season. Grieving during “normal” times is a full-time job. Throw in 2 or 3 holidays back-to-back and whatever milestones we might have in the middle…well…we’re all working on nervous breakdowns of epic proportions. I think one of the cruelest things about the holidays (and this may just be me) is that we’re dealing with something we used to look forward to so much. And it’s turned into something we can barely get through. My first Christmas without my husband was definitely the hardest. […]

No ‘Shoulds’ in Grieving a Spouse’s Death

No ‘Shoulds’ in Grieving a Spouse’s Death On my commute to work this morning (by which I mean my walk down to my basement office), I started wondering about something that seems to be a common theme with all of us widows: The ability to overcome what other people think of us. When our spouses die, the surrounding public seems to think it’s their right–no, their duty… to tell us how things should be done. They watch as we bumble our way into a somewhat normal existence after our lives have been completely turned upside down. The people we know […]

‘Lonely’ Not Powerful Enough Word to Describe Widowhood

The Word ‘Lonely’ Not Strong Enough Loneliness in widowhood is not surprising. I mean, even for the people who have never been through it, the loneliness of widows is a no-brainer. But frankly, I think that lonely is not a strong enough word. There is a deep silence that comes with losing your spouse. And it doesn’t matter if you’re standing in the middle of a crowded room; you will still notice it. It’s the quiet that comes when you don’t have that familiar voice whispering in your ear at a wedding, “Can you believe she wore that? I mean, what […]

Don’t Believe One Widow’s Experience Will be the Same as Yours

You know…I always hesitate before I write about something hard I’m going through. There is always a fear that a new widow will read it and think, “My gosh…I’m just trying to get through today. This woman has been at it for almost four years and she’s still having a hard time???” I’m always worried about it because when I was newly widowed, I became friends with a woman I had an instant connection with who was about a year ahead of me in the Grief Game. As I neared my one-year mark, so proud of myself that I had […]

Father’s Days After a Husband Has Died

My son recently asked me the question I have been WAITING for one of my children to ask for years. “Mom, how come you get a Mother’s Day and we don’t get a day?” Haven’t you been waiting all of your adult life to answer that question just like your parents did? “Because every day is Kid’s Day.” I never understood that as a child, but now as the mom of three small children, I wish I had a tattoo across my forehead that said it. I would be a hit at Chuck E. Cheese. Have you ever noticed how […]

Hey, Widows: You Can’t Do Everything and Do Everything Well

“You can’t do everything and do everything well.” I was sitting at a piano, confiding in my piano teacher as I often did, when she doled out this piece of advice that has stuck with me ever since. At 16-years-old, I didn’t yet have a clue what she was talking about – she was probably making me feel better for mediocre grades on my finals or a lost audition – but those words of wisdom have been with me for years. They were with me when I got married, when I worked and took 21 credit hours my last semester […]

Life’s Transitions, Friendships, and the ‘Widow Infection’

I feel like I’m in a period of transition, which is not unusual for me. It’s really not unusual for anyone like me, and by that I mean a woman in her 30s This year, I will be turning 36, which means that if I were in elementary school, it would be perfectly okay to round up to 40. But I’m not in elementary school, so it’s not okay. I don’t mind being in my 30s because I’m starting to recognize it for what it is and I think lot of my friends are as well. This is the time […]

The Widow Time Zone

I’m writing this late at night on purpose. Or maybe I’m not. I don’t know. Right now I’m in Widow Time Zone (WTZ). WTZ comes as a surprise to us all. I know this because I’ll be sitting at my computer just typing away when an email will come in at 1:00 in the morning and I’ll respond to it. Hey, Widow Chick! Just wanted to see if you could help me with ____ or if you could read the following ____ or if you could just let me know if I’m crazy. As soon as my email pings, […]

Why Some Women Start Dating Soon After Husband’s Death

I have been confused by many things in my life. But I would say that, by far, the thing that has confused me the most is being comforted by a boyfriend while I cry about my husband. Yup. That’s a doozy. I would imagine that it’s confusing for him as well. I mean, if my husband were here…my boyfriend wouldn’t be. So it’s got to be a little difficult to say to me, “I’m so sorry he’s gone” because if he wasn’t we would have never met. But since he’s my best friend, too, that’s what he says. And he […]

‘This Too Shall Pass’

Just like everyone else in the world, I have good weeks and I have bad ones. This one…not so great: Sick kid, two trips to the ER, fear of going to my mailbox to find the medical bills that I know will be lurking in there at some point soon. To say the least, I have had a somewhat problem-filled week. There is only one thing that is getting me through it. And that is thinking over and over again, “This too shall pass.” I don’t know who said it first. I just looked it up on Wikipedia and it […]

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