Sally Haslanger and Steve, Isaac, and Zina Yablo
395 Washington St.
Cambridge, MA 02139
shaslang@mit.edu, yablo@mit.edu
21 December
2002
Dear Friends and Family:
As things grow more worrisome around the globe and in Washington, D.C., we
find ourselves immensely grateful for so much at home. Now well into
our fifth year in Cambridge, with jobs we both love and two beautiful kids
exploring all that this area has to offer, we are aware every day how lucky
we are.
The big adventure this year was a summer in St. Andrews , Scotland.
Steve and I had fellowships that took us there to give a series of six seminars
each, all expenses paid. St. Andrews is a small town on the eastern
coast of Scotland, known for its university, its golf courses, and the ruins
of the castle and cathedral. It is a spectacularly beautiful location
with long sandy beaches (you might have seen them in the film Chariots of
Fire which was filmed there), rocky cliffs, and stone architecture.
The kids spent most of each day in University programs for children while
Steve and I worked. The long northern summer evenings we devoted to
cycling, walks on the beach, and when the rain and fog got to be too much,
watching the Commonwealth Games on the BBC. Weekends we took trips
to Edinburgh, where we spent as much time as possible with our good friends
Rae, Richard, Eleanor and Natalie. Although the kids didn't exactly
pick up a Scottish accent, they can imitate one now pretty well. And
Isaac has added cricket to his sports repertoire.
After the natural beauty of St. Andrews and the bracing fresh air off the
North Sea, it was a bit of a jolt returning to urban life. But the
transition to the new school year has gone well for all of us. Isaac
is in third grade and is happily situated in a classroom with lots of friends
and a wonderful teacher. He continues to be a sports enthusiast and
his natural talents have blossomed under the guidance of inspiring coaches.
In the spring he was chosen for the all-star team in baseball, although one
of the youngest players on his team; this fall he was chosen for the Cambridge
all-star team in soccer and scored the only goal by his team in the championship
finals (they lost, but had a great time). He also just passed his yellow-advanced
belt in Tae Kwon Do. This fall he has become active in a group in church,
"Sons of Allen" that mentors Black boys as they negotiate the challenges
of growing up. This group provides a context where Isaac's thoughtful
and responsible side is appreciated and nourished, and not just by us.
St. Andrews was an idyllic interlude for Zina. She loved
wandering the beach looking for crabs, climbing the rocks, and generally
enjoyed the greater autonomy and more relaxed pace that was possible on summer
break in a small Scottish town. She turned out to be a more eager naturalist
than we ever imagined, and we've vowed to go camping and hiking more often.
Zina is now in the combined first-second grade classroom that Isaac just
finished, and has been doing great academically. Her intelligence and
creativity are finding new outlets in reading and writing. Her passion
continues to be the choir and dance programs at church. She has already
sung her first solo and sometimes seems to sing and dance her way through
the day; her current favorite song is the Lord's Prayer...with whatever is
the latest teenie-bop hit her second. Medically the combination of
meds , OT, and play therapy seems to be working well for her.
Steve and Sally are much the same: busy. Sally is involved in more
projects than she can really keep up with, from being room parent in Zina's
class, to being on the parent supervising team for Zina's choir (with close
to 100 kids in the choir, a team of 6-8 adults is needed over and above the
music staff), through a long list of political, professional, and intellectual
commitments. She is editing three books (forthcoming from Cornell University
Press (on adoption), Oxford University Press (on feminist theory), and MIT
Press (on a topic in metaphysics); and the monograph she has been working
on for ages has been submitted for publication.
Steve helps out in Isaac's classroom once a week, interviewing kids about
the books they are reading. He has learned a great deal about animals
living in super cold places. He got an iPod this Fall and is trying
to work out which are the best 1000 songs ever. Crimson and Clover
makes the cut four times (versions by Strawberry Alarm Clock, Velvet Underfgrouned,
Joan Jett, and the Pretenders). Steve is on sabbatical during 2003, and will
return in 2004 to be chair of the philosophy department. He will use
the year to begin work on a book in metaphysics, and also to put some
existing papers together for an Oxford University Press volume.
Love from all of us and very best wishes for 2003.
Sally, Steve, Isaac, and Zina