Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Slow Down, They Say

Billy Kaderli

Not packed. Not unpacked

That is what my friends are telling me about my new relationship with my Thai lady friend.

Good advice—if I were 50. In my mid-70s, I do not have years to spare on maybe. I still want to choose with care. I also want to choose while there is time. I witnessed Akaisha’s passing and how quickly it came. At this age, none of us are guaranteed a long runway. I know the statistics. I also know they are not a sentence. They are a reminder to live on purpose.

I have no parents, no children, and no family I can depend on in the old way. I do not want my later years left to the state, to Medicare, or to a room full of strangers. What I want is simpler and better: a loving, caring, nurturing woman beside me through to a beautiful end. The same kind of devotion I gave Akaisha.

We all walk around feeling solid until life proves otherwise. Akaisha’s diagnosis did that for me. It changed everything. I used to assume I would go first and that she would be there. That is not what happened. So now I am building a life that can hold both the good years I still hope for and the care I may one day need.

I do hope those good years are many. I am planning for them. A Plan B does not cancel the hope. It steadies it. Heck, I might even start a family. Ha. No.

How many times in baseball do you get the pitch of a lifetime—a fastball in your sweet spot, the one you trained your whole life to see? This feels like that pitch.

I am swinging. How do you slow down your heart?

My Thai friend came into my life when I was struggling. I do not know what to call that kind of timing. Some days it feels like grace. So far I am only rounding first. We have not met except on the internet, and still the connection is strong. She feels it too, and we both want to move forward.

It is surreal. Some days it feels like a dream, as if she could not be real. If she is, I am a lucky man. I am letting myself believe that luck is possible.

We will know in the near future, when we meet and spend time together, whether this can become a life.

And if it all falls down, I can breathe in, breathe out, and move on—then look up again.

Billy

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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