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