So, I’m sitting there watching the tube with my husband, Charlie, reading the latest AARP Magazine when I think, when did this happen? When did I go from joking about this magazine to actually reading it? Not just leafing through, not scanning it, but enjoying it? I mean, finding the articles interesting and helpful. Sharing the occasional tidbit with Charlie. And me and the Women Who Run With the Moose love the “Movies for Grownups” section. The celebrities on the cover used to be old looking, you know? Now I see the latest issue and say things like, “Hey, Kathy Lee’s not looking half bad!” In fact, this month I got more excited about the …

Charlie’s on the mend from his hip replacement. Every day he gets better and better. It’s a marvel to see him bend down and put on his socks by himself. He’s doing physical therapy a couple times a day, plus he takes a short walk. Without Scamp, of course. That’s because Scamp can be a little unpredictable, especially when he sees another dog. He only weighs fourteen pounds, but that four on the floor is a powerful thing. The hardest part for Charlie is the nighttime. Especially at the beginning. He just couldn’t get comfortable. No position seemed to work, so he dreamed a lot. I’ll let him tell you all about it.  The Dreams …

Well, Charlie had his hip replacement. A week ago, today. Get this: we had to be at the hospital in Bangor at 5:45 am. I know! Had to get up before 4:00, which actually was a relief because neither one of us was doing much sleeping. I says to Charlie, “I can’t believe we’re getting up this early, driving to Bangor, and not getting on a plane to somewhere nice.” He just grunted in response. We arrived at 5:30. “French early,” is what we call that. Unlike some people, we really do think the party will start without us. So we arrived at 5:30 in the morning, and you know what? Charlie walked out of …

Charlie get’s his new hip today, and it’s been a busy week getting all our ducks in a row. This kind of thing makes you think about your life together, you know, all you’ve been through. So I thought I’d revisit the story of how Charlie and me got together. It appears in my book, The Sweet Life.  Puppy Love I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t know Charlie. Mahoosuc Mills is a small town, so he was always in the background somewheres, plowing with his Dad, stacking wood for Mrs. Thibodaux, riding his bike to Blue’s General Store to get licorice or playing hockey for Mahoosuc High. Best as I …

Here in the LeClair household, we’re counting down to Charlie’s hip replacement one week from today. We’ve had it scheduled since last fall. That’s when Charlie finally wrapped his head around the fact he had to deal with it because his bum hip was starting to get in the way of doing things he liked to do. He’s been limping for awhile, but I knew he had to come around to it on his own. So, I didn’t push. Once he mentioned it though, I made an appointment right away. You wait too long with this stuff and your whole body gets outta whack. Before you know it, your good hip is now bad hip, …