The problem with writing about FIRE since 2009 is that I've become completely sold on the lifestyle. I know how good freedom feels, so I have a natural tendency to want everyone I care about to achieve it too. I'm also aware I can come across as annoying when I talk about FIRE, so I try to throttle my enthusiasm in most situations. After the first year of FIRE in 2012, I no longer told anybody I had retired. Instead, I'd tell people that asked that I was a writer or investor, to avoid strange looks or awkward conversations. I try to  play dumb to save energy. But as someone approaching 50, I'm acutely aware of how quickly time passes. There is no amount of money I would take to trade away the last 14 years of freedom. Not one dollar. OK, maybe two billion dollars.…