This is probably a bit longer of a read, but here's my retirement story so far.
I was just learning about FIRE in 2019. I'd taken control of my investments and even with COVID was doing pretty well. In August of 2020 my mother suffered a stroke. I flew from California to see her in Louisiana. I ended up having to extend my one week visit to stay and care for my mother during her recovery. There was just no other reliable family member who could take the time off to be there to help. My employer was understanding, but I think that was true for only as long as they were legally required to be. I absolutely was thankful for the Paid Family Leave time from my company and the state. That allowed me to focus on my mother's health for three whole months. After the three months were up, my employer requested that I come back to work. If I couldn't come back the only option they were willing to offer was early retirement. I wanted to be angry, but that's not really me. There was no way I could consider leaving my mother and walked away from a job I still enjoyed (I worked in local news and it wasn't really as much fun by then anyway).
My wife and I had become very fiscally responsible over the course of our life (we did not start out that way). We discovered Index Fund Investing and we benefited greatly from owning our home outright and not having ANY debt. My wife had been able to retire in the previous year and we were having the conversation about my retiring in 2021, but I was likely going to wait until 2023 when I turned 62. I was in no rush.
I was able to stay with my mom until January 2021. She suffered another stroke and passed away. It was difficult, but I'll never be sorry for the time I got to spend with her.
It hasn't been quite a year yet since my retirement. I spent a total of six months in Louisiana and I'm still grieving the loss of my mom. That's really difficult for me. Once I got back to California I decided to tread very carefully and deal with the loss.
My retirement was less expected than I would have imagined, but it seems to be working out pretty well. Our living expenses and medical benefits are covered by my wife's pension and her retirement benefits. We have stock investments and my 401k and have only drawn from dividend payments off of them so far this year. At some point we plan to travel and I have it in mind that I'd like to live in another country for at least an extended vacation.
Being financially secure isn't something we take for granted. We struggled early in our careers and in raising our family (three kids). After paying others to take care of our investments I try to be well informed so my wife and I can make sound financial decisions. We're enjoying our retirement and look forward to long happy lives.
...or was I just supposed to say, hello?
