Misunderstood. 6/11/2023

My attempts to be a little silly and cagey about my new job (seeing other peoples) have backfired. We can't blast that I'm leaving my job before I tell my current boss. Folks don't understand the delicacy of this and have completely misunderstood. I have wanted to talk publicly about it so much! I need to make plans, but I'm caught in a holding pattern until I can talk to my current boss.

Boop is caught in the middle of it. For example, Boop told her friend that I was getting a new job, and we were moving out of state. I should have thought more carefully about the situation. I was just so relieved when a person involved in the hire gave me a heads up, but I should have been more discrete about it. In my excitement and trying to prepare her, I let the cat out of the bag. So, of course, Boop was trying to process it and talked to a few close friends at school. Friend B told her mother. A couple of days later, I saw the mother at the playground, and she kept asking me about it around a lot of other parents. Her husband is in administration in a place that is closely related to where I work. Plus, other parents around have associations with where I work. It's a small town. But, without paper in hand, a verbal offer is not real. It's just word-of-mouth. It also doesn't help in negotiations: if it falls through, then you don't want your boss to have hard feelings about you and think you're not committed to your job.

So, I had to deny the job. Of course, the mother really doesn't know how these things work and put me in a really awkward position. A really awkward position. I tried to maneuver away from it, but she would not let it go. The next day, Boop comes home and says, "Friend B called me a LIAR today in front of everyone and was being really mean! Mom, can't I tell, please?" I explained that the offer isn't real until you get the paper in hand, and that maybe she needs to spend a little time away from Friend B if she is acting this way. Now, we are delayed about telling my boss, which will not be easy. We both are so anxious about our move. She is excited and wants to talk about it. She wants to start saying her goodbyes. This whole process has taken that away from her. In the meantime, we are just trying to spend time with our friends while we can, and I'm trying to get this house ready to sell.