My apologies if I wasn't clear on a few things:

1) I didn't take two years off from teaching. I continued to teach music, just in a different country under a totally different school system.

2) I did not "walk back" into my former job I left when I returned and never expected to do so, nor did I want to do so. Upon returning the US, I found a different job in a different school district, but still teaching band.

2) I absolutely did not "go do a different career" when I left Texas/US when I took the teaching job in East Asia. I taught instrumental music at the secondary level and some elementary general music during the first half of my career. I never left my career of teaching music. Overseas I still taught music, just elementary music. When I returned to the US, I continued to teach music (band) for the remainder of my career. Even now in retirement I continue to teach a few instrumental music classes to adults on the side along with performing.

My recommendation was definitely not "go do a different career". It never was and I never entertained the thought of doing that. Ever. I simply found different facets of the same career I did for 35 years: Teaching music.