Sarah in SC, I grew up next door to you in GA and, thinking back, my role models for FIRE were my grandparents, who were retired by the time I became aware. I never saw them work for money but they had full lives. If they wanted to take us fishing every day for a week, we went fishing. If they wanted to shell peas or clean fresh-picked sweet corn, they did, usually with friends while telling stories and making it fun. If my grandfather wanted to "go see how high/low the river was " aka have a tall Schlitz in the truck, we did. They were fully alive people and, to us kids, their lives were a lot more appealing than the adults who disappeared for the best part of every day. The only time our grandparents ditched us was when it was time for As The World Turns. I don't think they retired to anything, in particular, except their lives. I really think that's what drives me.