Greetings all,
My original plan was to send about a 10-sentence update and some pictures to better align the content of the letter with the degree of (non-) excitement in our lives. Unfortunately, Paige didn't approve of the radically abbreviated version. So ... you have her to thank for Volume 32 being longer than it otherwise would've been. Please send comments directly to lpaigefields@gmail.com.
Unfortunate News
Paige and her family have had a tough road in the recent past. In about a one-year period her mother’s only sibling and her father’s remaining brother passed away, and then she lost both of her stepparents (of over 50 years) between June and November 2025. Frank Mullins, Paige’s stepfather, was a great man who taught Paige to drive (although I do not hold him responsible) and could not have been kinder or more loving toward both Paige and her brother. He had declining health for many years, so his passing was not unexpected. Paige's stepmother, Nancy Fields, died in November after suffering a post-surgery catastrophic brain bleed. She particularly enjoyed being a grandmother, and our family always had a great time hanging out with her and Paige's dad (prior to his passing in 2017) in Auburn, South Texas, and Fredericksburg. Long may they (all) run.
Us
We're still doing our thing at KU. Paige spent most of her sabbatical traveling back and forth to Texas, and she taught this fall for the first time in many years. Despite enjoying teaching, she would like to get back to administrative work. I shifted my PhD program responsibilities to other faculty and am now just teaching my MAcc class and fighting off the auditing research paparazzi. In non-work news, I experienced the glory of a meniscus tear in June and did PT all summer and early fall. I'm now back playing tennis at about 95% a couple days a week, but rehab definitely does not get any easier as one ages.
Kids
Reagan and Hunter are still in Austin and still sharing a house, but they're hoping to find a new place this year. They adopted Paige's stepmom's corgi in November, so that's keeping them pretty busy. Hadley is still in College Station and now has two pet rats to go along with her chinchilla. No, I don't understand either. Hollis moved to Houston in July when he started working for Deloitte. When he isn't neck-deep in multi-state tax compliance problems, he sings with the South Main Baptist Church choir and the Houston Symphony Chorus. Everybody is here for 1-2 weeks over Christmas (depending on the kid), which of course will be terrific.
Illiquid Assets
We're now co-owners of 44 acres in the Hill Country outside of Fredericksburg that Paige's dad and stepmom bought and built on in the early 2000s. It's a fabulous place and dead perfect for riding out the Zombie Apocalypse (or simply avoiding the lunatics currently running the world). If we were ready to retire we would just pull up stakes and move there tomorrow. But since one of us isn't quite ready to do that, a good bit of 2026 will be spent learning how to manage things and figuring out exactly what our next steps are going to be. NOTE: Some of you might be wondering whether this particular turn of events might make Paige more likely to (finally) agree to sell our house in College Station. I hinted at this possibility with the local oddsmakers last week and they offered to sell me a bridge in Brooklyn.
Books and Music
Top recommendations for new-ish books are Peace Like a River, North Woods, and Everybody in My Family has Killed Someone (extremely different, but very entertaining), and whatever you've not read in the Flavia de Luce series. For old stuff, the new (Mendelsohn) translation of The Odyssey is worth your time. And if you're interested in a fascinating and comprehensive take on the influence of Christianity on the Western world from a few hundred years B.C. to the present, you should check out Dominion. I almost never do non-fiction, but really enjoyed this one. As always, my list for the year is much, much longer than this ... so if you'd like some more ideas let me know.
New band discoveries include The Beths and Belair Lip Bombs, and I also re-discovered Nick Drake, which was a huge win. Best YouTube music algorithm matches for the year were Lady Moon and (totally random) Elthin. As for my own studio, there was more mandolin activity than anything else in the back half of 2025, and I expect that to continue. I also did a few passable REM covers early in the year. You can hit me up if you'd like to hear those.
That's all I've got. Not as concise as I'd originally intended but considerably more so than usual. Here's hoping 2026 is good to you.
Mike and Paige
P.S. --- Please update my email address to mike_wilkins@mac.com.
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