Feeling Off...

I'm approaching the one year mark of my unplanned early retirement, AKA "Act III." What I've learned in the past 10 months...

• Sleeping in every day if you feel like it is wonderful. 
• I adore not having to be anywhere or do anything unless I want to. 
• Afternoon naps without guilt of missing "work" are amazing. 
• I thought I might get bored after a while, but I'm seriously never bored. 
• Adjusting to my new "fixed income" hasn't been horrible, but enjoying doing nothing certainly makes it easier to adapt. Thankfully, I won't find myself in the top income tax bracket this year. The amount of taxes I ended up paying for 2025 was mind-boggling. 
• I've become selfish with my time...I really don't want to commit to anything. 

Part of me has rationalized my laissez-faire approach to retirement as a period of healing from working insane hours at a stressful job for far too long. My body was weary, and I'm only now starting to feel some relief from all that stress. 

I've also thoroughly enjoyed myself, taking trips to Scotland, Ireland, Phoenix, Springfield, Tampa, Vegas, Australia, and Paris in the past 10 months, along with numerous trips to Indiana. 

Along with all my free time, however, is too much time to doom scroll or read about the depressing state of affairs in the country/world. It's exhausting and depressing and maddening all at the same time. It's hard to shake the constant feeling of dread or that things are just off and somehow going to get even worse.