Yesterday afternoon, I sat in the front garden in my pajama bottoms and a t-shirt waiting for the mail carrier. It was a beautiful day. The weather was warm, and the slight breeze was causing the leaves to rustle in the trees. I sat down on the garden path while my neighbor's cat, Stephen, lay on his back next to me and went to sleep. I casually studied a very long line of busy ants, and took in the pattern of the bricks in the garden path, and the wild grass and ivy growing around me. It was one of those afternoons when time stands still and life seems perfect. It felt as if I had everything I needed right there.
A bit later, the mail carrier arrived and Stephen the cat scarpered. He makes himself scarce around people he doesn't know, which is a smart trait for a cat who spends time outdoors in an urban area. The mail carrier brought the packages I was expecting (vintage radio parts and a custom chassis for a new receiver I am building, as well as an unexpected gift from a friend).
Granted, yesterday was a Saturday but
a) I used to work every Saturday, and
b) even if I hadn't worked on Saturday, my general work schedule wouldn't have afforded me the luxury to pass the time in such a leisurely and thoroughly enjoyable way on my day off.
In ER, I am answerable to no-one, except for the occasional expectations of my SO (and she doesn't ask for much, bless her) and my cats, who wait on the bed every morning to remind me that they need to be fed. So to answer the question, this is what I get from FI. It's a high-stress life, I tell ya