September 8th, 1999

My life is full of them. I will be starting a new job with the library, one that I am really happy about, even though it will be stressful and take a lot of creative energy. I got selected to be the coordinator of a brand new program at my library that will do outreach to immigrant students and their families. Minneapolis is in the middle of one of the most massive waves of immigration in its history. In the last two years, the demographic map of the city has changed dramatically. We now have thousands of families in the city whose primary languages are Spanish, Hmong and Somali. Over one in five of the children in Minneapolis Public Schools are enrolled in English Language Learner programs. While I realize that this percentage is nothing compared to what is found in some of the school districts in California and Texas, for Minnesota this is an astonishing statistic. Many social service agencies, the library among them, are struggling to learn to serve this new clientele.

That's nice, Hilary. But what will you actually do? Well, everything. I'll be hiring a staff of bilingual outreach workers, connecting with schools and social service agencies, making contacts within different immigrant communities, conducting focus groups, and learning everything that I can. Later I will be visiting branches of our library system, ordering materials in different languages, refining some of our library services and promoting others. My new job will be exciting, and better yet, it will change every day.

Pregnancy Update

Wow, I'm no longer throwing up! I've discovered something amazing. The books and experts who talk about how wonderful women feel in the second trimester are right. If you are not throwing up, you have boundless energy. I run up four flights of stairs at my workplace with no problem. I don't feel worn out and sick anymore. My friends and husband tell me that I'm glowing, and I think they are right.

I'm also big. What do I mean by big? Well, it looks sort of like I have a basketball taped to my abdomen. I'm carrying my baby entirely in the front, which makes me look even more pregnant than I really am. Overnight it seems like I developed the "pregnancy shelf" with my belly jutting out horizontally under my breasts before it begins curving outward again. Being big has its advantages and disadvantages. Everyone knows now that I am pregnant without having to be told, so I get help when I need it. But strangers have also started cooing over my belly and telling me that I look "darling", which I find a little disconcerting. Only three and a half more months to go...

I finally had to give in and buy a pile of maternity clothes. While I had been surviving for a while on the castoffs of friends, I made an important realization. They all gave birth in the summer, which meant that I needed an entire other wardrobe of seasonally appropriate maternity wear to last me through December, when the baby is due. Fortunately, I found a number of good-looking and practical corporate-type maternity outfits for cheap in thrift stores, so I did not have to spend a fortune on stuff I will only wear for a few months.

The baby is doing great. She is extraordinarily active. Even now, I can now feel her bouncing against my belly. (I have a strong suspicion that she has a trampoline in there.) It is such an amazing feeling to feel your own child moving around inside you. Here is her latest ultrasound, at 22 weeks. The picture is a little blurry, but if you look carefully, you can see her sucking her thumb!

Hmm