Nimmer,
I see you are 53, the age I was when I got my 'early go'. I can assure you that time will fly by and you will become one of those retirees you appear to despise, as they are no longer in the 'real' world of ATC.
My son and his wife, who are both ATCOs at TC, agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments expressed by KCockayne - it's a great job and beats working for a living. Mind you I keep telling them they will never be 'real' controllers until they have validated at a busy airfield. I can't find the smiley emojis so the last sentence is what us old guys call humour - something that is sadly missing today.