Backbreaking Labor

My wife expects to work all her life, right through "retirement," and we share an unspoken assumption that I will do the same because she believes that work is noble for its own sake. Curio City might have failed as a career, but it seems like an indefinitely suitable retirement project.

Anne's work is sitting at a desk and typing. My work is a little more physical. It only gets strenuous at Christmastime, but it is always relentless -- the orders must go out, the stock must come in, and it has to go up and down stairs to do so. 

I threw my back out again this week for the umpteenth time since I originally injured it 38 years ago. I'm muddling through, as I always do; what choice do I have? But it reminds me that the day when "I'm getting too old for this" turns into "I AM too old for this" might come sooner than expected and without warning. 

I'm one of those rare and lucky individuals whose income will rise when I can draw Social Security. I worked real jobs and made real money for 30+ years. And because Anne outearns me by an order of magnitude, my spousal benefit will be substantial even if Curio City has ruined my individual benefit. I just need to get through another eight and a half years.