Big things in my little world- Part 2

I've started to write this post a dozen or so times in the past week, but it always sounded lame or poorly written or dopey. But I'm tired to trying to rewrite it, and it will never sound good enough to me, so here goes nothin'. For the almost a year, my boss and I have been talking about expanding or changing my job because I was starting to stagnate. After a bunch of years, the same duties for the same boss can get a bit stale, even if you are good at them. So, we've added and tweaked and revised, and I finally came up with a new title and job description that we planned to use as a promotion for me with the review I have at the end of the summer. About two weeks ago, one of the other executive secretaries in my organization pointed my attention to a job posting in her area. It involved supporting the Board of Trustees for our organization (meeting notes, briefings from the corporate officers, correspondence.) The hiring manager has been with our company for about a year, and is very nice and level headed and seems like she would be good to work for. So, I considered it, and I sensed that it might be a good move. I talked to my boss, though, because I'm not exactly the most confident person when it comes to changes, and I'm very good at convincing myself that I'm going to fail or disappoint someone. Boss encouraged me to pursue it, since he thought the hiring manager is a good person (he initially told me not to apply because he thought the position reported to a manager whose department is a big clique.) He said I was qualified, and that we had my revised position to fall back on if the new one didn't work out. The next day, I got an appointment notice from HR for an interview. I had the interview a mere 90 minutes after Boss had met with HR to get their approval for my summer promotion. About an hour before my interview, HR asked me if I could also find time to meet with one of the corporate officers. So, I did two interviews that day instead of the one I planned for. The new job, if I got it, would involve some travel (twice a year, 3 or 4 days each) and two on-site meetings that would require longer hours than normal (each meeting lasting for 2 days.) Taking the job would require a different child care arrangement, since I would sometimes need DH to attend to all three kids and their associated drop-off and pick-up times. The revise daycare would cost more than I had budgeted for the upcoming year, so the increased expense would be a major part of what the new job had to offer. I mulled, and I crunched numbers, and I came up with what I thought I needed and wanted out of a job change. Three days ago, the hiring manager called me to go over the duties one more time, since she wanted to offer me the job. Later than day, HR extended an offer of $1000 less than what I determined I needed to make to have the job be feasible. I crunched some more numbers, and enlisted backup from some family members about what I could do to reduce my expenses, and I counter-offered. I left the office on Tuesday with the counter-offer still under discussion. Two days ago, first thing in the morning, I asked the recruiter whether we had any resolution. She said that it was still being discussed. I lowered my offer a bit, and hoped for the best. At my staff meeting that morning, Boss announced to the group that I was leaving. I managed to convince myself that the job offer would be retracted, since we had jinxed it by saying it out loud. Two days ago, at lunchtime, HR informed me that my revised number had been accepted. So, it's a done deal. And the word began to spread. My boss is still happy for me, but it beginning to fear what will happen when I leave. My co-workers are alternately happy for me, since the new job offers professional growth that my current one does not, and fearful of how Boss will cope with the idea of someone new. Apparently I have been enough of a buffer for the people who have not wanted to deal with him directly that my absence will be hard to adjust to. My new boss sent an announcement to senior management of the promotion, so word is filtering through other departments as well. The small aspects of what I do, beyond what I put in my job description, are coming to light. "What will happen to the social events?" people are asking. "Who will order food?" I say that anyone can do these things, with very little effort, I say. But my reputation as mother hen has been established, and the chicks are getting concerned. But, it is not my concern for much longer. In 24 days, I will have flown the coop.