Happy New Year

I'm still catching my breath from 2022.  Oh, what a year.  These calendar flips are getting faster and faster.  Good thing I'm following David Sinclair's protocols for molecule boosts so I can find a way to keep up with a gazelle-like intensity that Dave Ramsey touts to his followers.  If you woke up with a hangover this morning like at least one person pictured here from our most recent adventure, consider this your wake-up call to a fresh new year filled with abundant opportunities.  I'm going to step out of my comfort zone for a moment and share some thoughts about how I'm using my calendar flip to change a few things in my life.

My wife will probably shoot me for sharing this.  We're connected at the hip through 33 years of marriage and any choice she makes with her life impacts my life.  Drum roll, please... My wife will be retired two months from today.  She paid her dues.  She inspired me to pursue a debt-free life which we accomplished last year on St. Patrick's Day.  My wife inspires me to be the best version of myself I can be and I love her with all my heart.  She is ready to live like no one else and wake up every morning with a blank slate.  I will continue to be the worker bee and gather enough honey to pursue our number one passion – travel.  Some of you have been asking, "What about you, Michael?  When are you going to retire?"  God willing, I will be retiring on my 70th birthday on the 4th of July, 2030.  That's when my "Vulcan itch" of 7 years, 6 months, and 6 days (two leap year days are included in the calculation) will be at its highest point for living the travel dream and I will sign off from one of the most fascinating day job experiences of my life.  

I would like to reach out and thank a couple of readers for their tenacity regarding this blog.  It must be quite a challenge for you to visit here every single day and see all these words Mike Mulligan has been shoveling with his steamshovel, Mac (as in MacBook Pro).  Time for another drum roll coming up on May 3, 2023... my oh my, 5,000 daily stories and still going, hopefully until Mac and I run out of stories and I reach my expiration date.

If you've made it this far in the story, I have a bonus announcement.  It's our next travel adventure.  My mother plans to visit Iowa for her first time since she attended our Parnell wedding in the summer of '89.  I asked her to stay long enough for a road trip.  If your names are Harry and Helen (Mulligan) Stark, surprise! We're crashing your place when you return from your annual Valley of the Sun trip.  If all goes well, we'll spend the day with you and stay overnight before heading up to Duluth to see mom's favorite spiritual guru.  

I don't have an answer for those who keep asking, "When are your next books coming out?"  What I can say is I'm making progress with the twins.  I may not be going at warp speed but I do see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Pray for me.  I would really like to share "Live Long and Prosper" and "The Adventures of Castaway Wilson" with you before the next calendar flip.  I will have my newly retired wife at my side to be my accountability partner for the twins.  

Pursue your goals one day at a time and don't give up.  Happy New Year!