An offer and an entry to Limboland

I am sitting at my voluntary placement with a mouthful of chicken sandwich when someone hands me my mobile and says that the person who interviewed me for a job wishes to speak to me right now. "How are you?" says Louise, the potential line manager. "Eating!" I say in a totally unprofessional manner. And then loyal readers, she says they want to offer me the job! Got into shaky excitement mode and give more inane babblings but they got me a job offer so hey, maybe I should give in to them more often. After the call, I do a sort of tango like dance up and down the corridor leading people to wonder what I am on.
The good news is tempered by the fact that the last time I had such an offer, my former boss gave a bland reference and the offer was withdrawn. So I am in Limboland not knowing what the next few weeks holds. Will he be decent this time? To put things into context, I returned to my role with him two weeks after having a Caesarean birth! Apparently, that and my successful project leadership was not good enough to merit a good reference!
My voluntary placement provider is promising to "wax lyrical" about me so I am hoping that will help but I remain nervous of what the former boss will do.
Then I am reminded of the difficulty of balancing parenting and anything else as I rediscover the costs and inflexibility of childcare providers.
For now, break open the champagne and hope for the best