37. Life Update + The Podcast is BACK!

🎙️ Episode 37: Life Update + The Podcast is Back!

Hey y’all — I’m back! It’s been over a year since I last dropped an episode of Whatever with Heather, and honestly, I didn’t know I was going to press pause when I did. In this episode, I catch you up on everything that’s happened since May 2024: the highs, the hard stuff, and all the moments in between that helped me get clear on what I truly value.

This isn’t just a life update — it’s about navigating change, facing burnout, choosing alignment, and stepping back into what feels right for me and my family.

✨ In This Episode, I Talk About:

• Why the podcast went silent for 13 months
• What it was like teaching in public school for the first time
• What led to full-blown burnout and my decision not to renew my teaching contract
• How my husband and I started rebuilding our Taekwondo business
• The values that surfaced through all of this: integrity, alignment, peace, and freedom
• What we’re building now — and why it feels so right

💭 What I’ve Learned:

• I’m not meant to work in environments that drain me, even if I can handle them
• Integrity isn’t just important — it’s a non-negotiable
• I need work that feels aligned, creative, and rooted in purpose
• Stepping into the unknown is scary... but also where the magic happens

🛠️ Looking Ahead:

Now that I’ve got more space and clarity, the podcast is back! Here’s what to expect going forward:

• New episodes on mindset, parenting, marriage, and life’s messy ups and downs
• Honest reflections on what I learned through teaching and burnout
• Guest conversations and chats with my husband (we have thoughts)
• Updates as we build our new business — and continue this wild adventure
• Oh, and… I’m finally finishing my book! 🎉

💬 A Little Note from Me:

If you’ve been listening from the beginning — thank you. And if you’re new here, welcome. I hope this episode helps you feel less alone in whatever season you’re walking through. I’m so grateful to be back, to be sharing again, and to have you along for the ride.

Chapters

• 0:47 Welcome Back After 13 Months
• 2:05 New Teaching Job and Summer Adventures
• 6:02 Balancing Teaching with Family Life
• 11:11 Navigating Challenges in Education
• 15:23 New Business Venture and Career Pivot
• 20:23 Core Values and Future Plans

Transcript

Heather: 0:25

Hey y'all, welcome back to another episode of Whatever with Heather. It has been a minute. In fact, it's been about 13 months since I dropped my last episode. May 2024 was when I recorded and posted my last episode. At that time I did not know that I would be pressing pause on this, so I just want to spend today catching y'all up on this past year, kind of reviewing what has gone on in my life as well as plans moving forward. So just a little life update, recap and also how this past year has really made me be aware of some values that I actually didn't know were major values of mine. I knew I valued these things, but I didn't know how important and how central these values are to my life. So let's just recap May 2024 was the last time I posted an episode and, as it happens in May every year, if you have kids in school or kids in any activities, there are lots of performances and award ceremonies.

Heather: 1:39

May is a very busy, busy month. Last May 2024, as well as that school year before May 2024. So the 2023-24 school year I would substitute teaching, so in May I was also substitute teaching, mostly at the local middle school, and in May I decided to apply for a teaching job at that school. I have been a certified teacher for 16 years but I've not ever used my teaching certification in a formal teaching position. I've been teaching all of these years but never in like a formal public school setting. So I applied for the job and at the end of May had the interview and beginning of June received my job offer to be a math interventionist at the middle school. The math interventionist job is not even what I had applied for initially, but they had had the job come open and thought I would be a great fit for it. And a math interventionist goes in and fills in the gaps of learning for sixth, seventh and eighth grade math kids that have failed or struggled on the STAR test. It's the standardized test we take in Texas and so my job was to help these kiddos feel more successful in math. I would not be teaching math classes, I would be going into math classes and helping support kids. And this job, when presented with me, total dream. I remember telling them that in my interview, when they brought up that job they had open, I was like that would actually be my dream job. They had open. I was like that would actually be my dream. So in June I got the job offer. I took the job and knew that in August I would start my first official year in public school teaching in education in the state of Texas.

Heather: 3:18

Also in June, we road trip to Wyoming. We have road trip to Wyoming for the past five summers. This will be year number six. Our first year was summer of 2020. And we have been working on renovating a house that we own up there. So in June 2024, we went up there. We were up there for half of the month of June renovating this house. That's also where I was when I got the job offer Last June we basically finished all of the renovations on the house.

Heather: 3:46

There's a few little things, but it is mostly done. So that was a really exciting accomplishment last year. And then we road tripped back to Texas, spent some fun time driving through Colorado and seeing some places we hadn't seen before, and then in July last year our daughter turned 16. So when our kids turned 16, we have given them the option of like a big sweet 16 party or a trip. And our 16 year old picked a trip, and so my husband and I and our oldest went to New York City. It was my husband's first time, my daughter's first time and then my second time to New York City. We had a great time going to shows and seeing so many sites of New York City. And then we get back and August 1st is my first day to professional development for the district I'm in.

Heather: 4:32

Last summer I had all intentions of filming and recording podcasts and YouTube videos but, as you can see, life got really rapid, really quickly, and so I decided to press pause on recording episodes and had planned on recording again when the school year started. Well, shocker, school year starts and this is my first time having a full-time job where I'm employed by somebody else and it's a typical nine to five or beyond job, and I'm also a mom of three, and so I'm balancing being a mom working full time, which I know people do this all the time. I am not special by any stretch of the imagination, but this was my first time having to balance that and navigate that and, with all of the intentions of filming more podcasts and recording more episodes, it just never hit the top of the list with all of the things that come with being a teacher and a mom of three kiddos and a wife and just running a household and just being a human and wanting to relax, it just never hit the top of the list. And on top of that being the first time I was balancing different things I hadn't had to balance before. I'm not saying that I haven't worked and been a mom, but we were always self-employed, we ran our own businesses, and that is different than working for somebody else. It just is.

Heather: 5:56

And also with teaching, there were things I was prepared to handle and deal with and that I was expecting, and there were things that ended up happening even before their school year started for me, that I was unprepared for, and so a lot of my energy was going into dealing with issues and situations that I was, quite frankly, like, not prepared for. I was prepared for students to wear me out, I was prepared for parents to come at me, and then there were things I was not prepared for, and there were so many amazing things about teaching and the things that I thought would be challenging actually ended up not being as challenging as I thought they would be, and maybe they just were challenging, but I was prepared for the challenge. And then there were things I was not prepared for, and so those became really challenging for me and through this year of teaching I've learned so much about what I value. I've learned about my skills and my talents. I've learned about my weaknesses and places I need to grow.

Heather: 6:58

And in that year of teaching I really had to sit in discomfort. And let me reword that I did not have to sit in discomfort, I chose to stay. I like I could have left that job and done something else, but I chose to stay. And it was really challenging to choose to sit in discomfort and choose to sit in a place where it was really hard to maintain my inner peace, a place where it was really hard to maintain my inner peace and it was really hard to protect my inner peace. But I grew a lot and like let me separate this the working with the students, the teaching, it like gives me goosebumps and makes me like a little emotional just talking about it. That was, that was amazing and I would never want my students to feel like there was anything they did or didn't do that made teaching challenging for me.

Heather: 7:54

All of the challenge in teaching when it came to students, was so rewarding. They were rewarding challenges Like it gives me goosebumps and it makes me emotional because teaching truly is such a gift and such a rewarding profession. I know there are a lot of challenges with it. I know that there are a lot of teachers going through a lot, but I definitely want to separate the students and what an amazing experience it was working with them. It was so good.

Heather: 8:23

I cannot like overstate how rewarding working with these middle school students was for me and overall as well. The parents were very supportive. The parents were just being parents and caring about their kids and also very supportive of me as well, and I'm sorry if in the background you can hear someone doing yard work. It is what it is it's yard work time. And then, on the flip side of all of the beauty and the amazing challenges of teaching were challenges that I was unprepared for and therefore I was equipped to handle. I think we all are equipped to handle the challenges we face, but I was unprepared and therefore really whiplashed by the challenges I faced. So that is kind of like teaching last school year for me.

Heather: 9:18

As an overview of how it went for me, now let me just jump you back into my life. So we had the fall of last year. I was teaching and dealing with some very whiplashy situations and, mind you like, our middle daughter is on the volleyball team. She's a lieutenant on the middle school dance team. Our oldest daughter is doing theater multiple days a week. Our son is still homeschooled. He's home with my husband and they are homeschooling.

Heather: 9:41

And also I forgot to mention that in July of last year, my husband began to teach taekwondo again at a local gym that we rented out. We had owned a martial arts school for our entire marriage before 2020. And he had owned it longer than that. So in summer of 2020, we decided that it was time to just close our doors. There were so many unknowns. We all know what happened in 2020. And we decided to retire ourselves for a little bit. We had always owned a business and had small kids and therefore, with a brick and mortar business, you're really landlocked. We couldn't travel, we couldn't go, do things, and so we made the hard decision of closing this business that we had built to 180 students, like we were doing well, and we loved our community so much that we had built, and, at the same time, the world was really unknown and unpredictable and we needed to step away and work on some other things and live some other dreams. So in July last year my husband began teaching in person again and then by August, september, october, this program starts to grow and he's getting more students. So in fall of 2024, we are watching this program grow and it's just so fun to watch my husband do what he is amazing at Like he is such a good instructor. And since we were growing our program that means we got to do pumpkin smashing again. We had all the kids come over to our house and do pumpkin smashing in our driveway. I'm teaching. He's running a Taekwondo program.

Heather: 11:20

Our oldest daughter had her homecoming dance, you know, like a really pretty purple dress. And then the week of Thanksgiving we took a trip to a nearby small town, found like a little Airbnb house on the lake and we played a lot of pool and we went fishing and that was really fun. And then December comes and December is similar to May Very busy performances. We helped create a parade float for our daughter's dance team. I think I also forgot to mention that in the fall we built a set for the middle school's theater performance. Also in December our son was in Elf Junior and he ended up having to fill in last minute for a cast member in a different cast that was his same role, so that was fun to see him do. Our daughter, our oldest daughter, was in Adam's Family musical. That was fun to watch her do that. And then our middle daughter had wrapped up volleyball season and then football season was all throughout the fall with her doing dance, and so the fall semester for our family was busy and it was fast paced. We loved it and I feel like during that time we were kind of just like in this groove and things are okay and the things that were hard about teaching are starting to get a little easier and I feel like I've wrapped my head around better the challenges that I was facing.

Heather: 12:39

Then comes 2025, january 2025. So January was an interesting month for our family. First of all, my birthday's in January, so it's just a really excellent month, you know. And then in January my husband ended up going to Wyoming for a month to work on a different house to renovate that my mother owns, and so he was spending a month up there renovating this house. Also in January our son starts public school, and in January, because my husband's built this Taekwondo program and he's gone, I'm teaching his Taekwondo classes on top of taking the kids everywhere. So January overview husband's out of town. I'm working full time. Son's starting public school. I'm teaching Taekwondo classes for my husband in the evenings and then our kids have their activities.

Heather: 13:31

And the day before my birthday in January, I am hit with information at work that just rocks my world. And I don't know if it's because the things that were said about me were so downright mean and unnecessary. I don't know if it's because it was a teacher saying it to a student. I don't know if it was because my husband was out of town, but this rocked me really hard. This was very challenging. So the day before my birthday I think it's Friday I find out these things are said about me. I verify that they have been said, it's not just a rumor. And my birthday weekend I just sob and then I just go back to work on Monday and just deal with it.

Heather: 14:18

And at this time with teaching it's been so rewarding and so incredibly toxic at the same time that I'm just really struggling, like I'm struggling with what to do. And then my kids don't need to go places. It's dance competition season, so we're just like trucking. My kids are like watching me struggle. My husband's out of town. I'm trying to navigate things and I'm also like, how can I continue this? This is where it starts to be like I don't know if I can do this for another year, like I can finish out this year, but I don't know that I can do this next year. I end up having a couple anxiety attacks. I just like don't want to inflict this upon myself again. And the reason this is important is because this is what starts the catalyst for what comes next.

Heather: 15:08

So my husband comes back in February and at this point we're having big conversations about what comes next. We're both in agreement that I could continue to do this, but at like, what cost? So we're thinking do I teach? Do we open a Taekwondo school? And it's also around this time that our school district announces that they are going to be going to a four-day school week next year, and it won't be four days every week, but it will be a four-day week for the majority of the weeks of school. So Fridays will be an off day.

Heather: 15:43

And during this time we start to brainstorm like, could we open a Taekwondo school? What would that look like? I would still like to teach, I would still like to be involved with students. And we talk about well, with Fridays off, like we could start a Friday program. We talk about what that would look like. We talk about how well our children will be out of school Friday, but then we'll have to be working Friday. But as a teacher I would have to work Fridays anyway.

Heather: 16:12

And so we start to brainstorm this idea the very beginning of March. Then we begin to look for spaces, spaces that could be a Taekwondo school, spaces that could potentially host a Friday program where students can come and do art and martial arts and movement and get support in reading and math and do science experiments, like creating this dream program of if our kids were in elementary school, what would we want it to look like. And we find this location the beginning of March. We don't know if we're going to go for it or not, and then by end of March March 22nd I believe we are in the space, renovating the space we are all in. At this point we're not sure if I'm still going to teach next year and try to run a Friday program. We're not sure the logistics of everything, but we're just continuing to go forward with this vision we have for this space that we have leased and chosen to be our location. So the months go forward. We have March, there's tennis and soccer and more theater, and towards the end of March, beginning of April, we open our location. My husband starts teaching Taekwondo out of the location instead of out of the gym we were.

Heather: 17:26

May is back around right, we had talked about May 2024, may 2025, back to all the performances and the award ceremonies, and it is during this time I have the final thing happen that just really helps me make the decision that I would not be renewing my contract and coming back to teach, and I felt great peace about it. I remember calling Brian on the phone and saying hey, are you fine if I let you know the principal of the school know that I'm not going to be renewing my contract. I felt such peace about it and so I sent that email and that was that. And then I'm able to proceed with the rest of the school year. I help plan the eighth grade dance because I have an eighth grader at the school. I'm filling in for teachers where I can. I'm just enjoying the time I have with the students I have. I let them know that I won't be back next year because I was working with all three grades. But I also let them know that I plan on subbing substitute teaching next year, here and there so that I can still see the students that I worked with and be in the community.

Heather: 18:31

And now here we are. We're in June 2025. We are running summer camps, like we did for all of the early years of our marriage. We are doing markets. We're out in the community meeting people. We are experiencing the joys and the ups and downs of starting a new business, but this is definitely like our vibe 100%. We are here in the community and we're back to what we truly care about. I know that was kind of a long-winded way to like give you an overarching picture of what has happened. Very busy summer last year took on a teaching job, taught the whole last school year, lots of ups and downs, and that created some major life reevaluations that have led to where we are now, to where I'm not returning to teaching next year where we have opened a business and we're just seeing where things go. We're on this adventure and at the end of that year the year I've been away from podcasting and from sharing videos on YouTube I've really had illuminated for me things that I valued but I didn't realize were such high value things to me.

Heather: 19:42

I realized my husband and I both realized together that we really value our integrity, the ability to do the right thing no matter what. I knew that I valued integrity but I didn't realize, like how much it's such a core part of who I am and what I value. I also realized I value really aligned work. It's hard for me to do things that are not in alignment with what I value. I value protecting my peace. My husband and I value building something we're proud of doing, work we're proud of. We value working for ourselves. I do not think working for yourself is like a higher path. I just think it's a different path and that's something we truly value. I'm also so grateful for the teachers I met that are just topch amazing teachers that pour into students year after year after year and deal with some major toxicity year after year after year. I mean truly inspiring and they really helped me navigate dealing with some challenging things for me.

Heather: 20:45

My husband and I also really value working together. I know a lot of spouses don't like working together and I can tell you, when we first got married, he already owned the Taekwondo school and then I stepped in to like organize the files and he was like that's not how it's done. And I was like you haven't organized these files in years, why do you care? There were arguments, so it's taken a while for us to be able to work together. But now we work really well together. We know how to support each other, we know when to step back, so we really value getting to work together. It is nice for me to work with somebody who has similar values and somebody who also values integrity and somebody who also has similar dreams and vision as I do. We love getting to do this.

Heather: 21:29

Being back in it is exciting and scary and mostly unknown, and that's where the magic is. Every time I've stepped into the unknown, it's magical, it's crazy, it can be really full of self-doubt at times, but it's always where the magic happens. It's in the things we don't know where we learn new things and we grow. It's been interesting that through teaching and through being put in the situations I was put in this past year, that it really helped me see what I don't want and what I do want. We don't really like challenges. We don't really like being forced to sit in discomfort At least I don't, but it really truly is where we are often forced to just face the facts and get really clear on what we value. Okay, so what's on the agenda? Moving forward? Well, we're building this business, but let's talk about the podcast and YouTube and what to expect.

Heather: 22:30

My goal is to be back here. This is something I love to do. I love sharing what I'm learning. I love showing up and getting to communicate with you. I'm excited to have the space to do that again, the space and the energy to do that again. My other big goal is finish my book. Y'all it is so close. It's been years in the making and I'm so excited to just finish the book. Whether or not you want to read it, it is a personal goal. I have to finish this book. I do think you will love it. I hope so, I mean. If not, it is what it is. It's my personal goal to finish this book. I'm so excited to share it.

Heather: 23:12

And then we'll continue podcasting here about mindset, parenting, life's ups and downs. I was listening to, like the intro to the show and thinking is that still aligned with like what I want to talk about? Yes, mindset is huge. What happens up here between your two ears, like what happens in your brain, determines so much Parenting. Yes, I'm also so excited to share and actually like zoom in on different parts of teaching and what I learned this past year. There's so much to unpack there and then life's ups and downs and then in my intro I say nothing is off the table. Truly nothing is off the table.

Heather: 23:54

I'll be doing some like podcasts with my husband where we talk about different topics and kind of our thoughts on different things and how we see things differently, and I would also love to have some guests and chat with some of y'all directly, because we grow by knowing we're not alone. We grow when we see other people walk the path and or walk a path, I should say walk their path. And when we see other people walk their path, it empowers us to walk ours and trust ourselves a little more. There's true value in learning from others. There's true value from showing up as yourself, imperfectly, and there's true value in being willing to sit in discomfort and learn and grow. I'm excited for what's to come. I'm excited to share with you and if you've made it through this whole episode, that was semi long and just a recap of the past year of my story, this chapter of my life. Thank you for making it through and I'm so excited to see you and chat with you on future episodes of whatever with Heather Bye.