How a Late Career Milspouse Turns Into a Mental Health Advocate
How a Late Career Milspouse Turns Into a Mental Health Advocate
Ever wonder how or why mental health advocates for military families get their start? Maybe you too see this in your future as a milspouse? Join me and Jenny Lynne Stroup of the award-winning Holding Down the Fort Podcast for a debrief on what it's like to assimilate into military culture (after spending much of your life on the outside), and how seeking mental health resources for yourself is the best way to see cracks in the system.
Warning: this conversation just might inspire you to take on the identifier "milspouse" with much more ease 😉
This episode is only marked "explicit" because I drop one F-Bomb. Oops.
This is Episode #5 of The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast series highlighting Late Career Milspouse/Milso stories + experiences ❤️
In this episode we mention:
Holding Down the Fort Podcast, where Jenny Lynne co-hosts and Jayla Rae was a guest: https://www.holdingdownthefortpodcast.com/episode/126
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Jenny Lynne Stroup is writer, blogger, podcaster, mental health advocate, Milspouse, MOPS-alum, and recovering human being.
She joins the Holding Down the Fort Podcast as a seasoned military spouse who spends her time at each duty station fostering community. She believes that being vulnerable and sharing her story empowers others to do the same.
As a freelance writer, Jenny Lynne uses stories to bridge the gap between the civilian and military communities. She is passionate about narrowing that gap and sees her role as a military spouse as an opportunity to reach both communities.
Jenny Lynne has a background in marketing and education. Jenny Lynne received her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing Management from Virginia Tech and her Master’s degree in Elementary Education from Old Dominion University.
Prior to advocating for military families' mental health as the Outreach Coordinator for the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Veterans Village San Diego, Jenny Lynne taught elementary school and spent her time working with several military organizations and spouse groups. She was a keynote speaker for United Through Reading at both the Storybook Ball and the Tribute to Military Families events.
Jenny Lynne also worked for the USO of Metropolitan New York as a special event coordinator. During her time with the USO she worked to provide comfort and care for the wounded warriors participating the US Army Warrior Trials.
Originally from Virginia, Jenny Lynne takes her affection for her double name, her love of Southern cuisine, and her appreciation of Southern hospitality wherever the Navy sends her.
Find her on social:
Instagram.com/jgsalias
Facebook.com/jennylynnestroup
Twitter.com/Jenny_Lynne_S
Linkedin.com/in/jenny-lynne-stroup
Learn more:
www.jennylynnestroup.com
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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Late Career Milspouse Mentor.
Let's chat! @mil.spouse
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Consider supporting the podcast below by buying me a coffee ❤️
TRANSCRIPT: How a Late Career Milspouse Turns Into a Mental Health Advocate
[00:00:00] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Well, Hey everybody Jayla Rae here, and we are back on the heart of a mil spouse podcast. And today I am joined by a very special guest as a part of the late career mil spouse series. Jenny Lynne Stroop is here. I'm so excited. Jenny Lynne is a writer, blogger, podcaster, mental health and recovery advocate and the 2022 AFI Naval Station Norfolk Spouse of the Year.
[00:00:28] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Did I get that right? That is a tongue twister.
[00:00:31] Jenny Lynne Stroup: You did. Excellent work. That is a mouthful.
[00:00:35] Jayla Rae Ardelean: absolutely. Okay. So Jenny Lynne, let's dive in. So let me hear a little bit more about how you met your husband and kind of what your awareness level of the military was prior to meeting him and where you were at in your own life when you met him, cuz there's gonna be a lot of like intersections that happen here within. [00:01:00] So paint the picture.
[00:01:01] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Gotcha. So, I mean, I met my husband as any good sailor wife does in a bar down in Virginia Beach. Um, winning. Uh, yeah, we met down in Virginia Beach. He was actually had been in Virginia Beach for about a month stationed at NAS Oceana.
[00:01:23] Jenny Lynne Stroup: It was his very first duty station. Um, and I happened to be out with my college roommate who had moved to Virginia Beach after we graduated from college. and I was spending the weekend with her and we went out and he opened the door for us that night. And then, um, you know,
[00:01:44] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Rest is history.
[00:01:46] Jenny Lynne Stroup: rest is history. Here we are here we are. How many years? We've married now? 13, 13, 13 years later. Um, yeah. So when we met, I was a brand new [00:02:00] teacher. I had just graduated with my master's degree. Um, and I was teaching elementary school. Um, and I had just gotten out of a long term relationship with the person I thought I was going to marry.
[00:02:12] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And so when we met, I was not, um, I mean, he was good looking at all, but I was like, dude, I mean, literally like three days before I'd gotten out of a long term relationship. And I was like, I'm just, I'm just here to hang out with my roommate and having some fun. I'm not really looking for anything. I'm definitely not looking for anybody in the military.
[00:02:33] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Like,
[00:02:33] Jayla Rae Ardelean: oh my gosh, we have so much in common . You bring every point in this story I'm like, yep. Me too. Yep. Yep, yep, yep. Yep.
[00:02:42] Jenny Lynne Stroup: yeah, I mean, I just started my big girl career. Like I just, you know, graduated with my master's and was teaching and doing what I wanted to do. I had a house, I had a car like all on my own dime and you know, 13 years later.
[00:02:56] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Well , I guess the story was going to be [00:03:00] different. That's how we met. That's where I was. What was the rest? There was more that you asked me.
[00:03:05] Jayla Rae Ardelean: What was your awareness level of the military?
[00:03:07] Jenny Lynne Stroup: That's right. Oh, so my awareness level. So I actually grew up in a very military area. I grew up in the Hampton roads area of Virginia.
[00:03:17] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Um, but I grew up in the Western most city of Hampton roads. And so. The Navy and all of its things were that thing over there that I was like, oh, well, that's neat. Like that. I mean, it was just like a general awareness. You have kind of growing up here that like, there is all of this military around, but when I was growing up in Suffolk, not many military folks live that far away from base, it's like a 40 plus minute drive depending on traffic.
[00:03:44] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And, you know, nobody lived out there. So I didn't know anybody other than like, you know, The older generation, like
[00:03:51] Jayla Rae Ardelean: right
[00:03:52] Jenny Lynne Stroup: over two era, but definitely not currently serving. And it was one of those, like, you know, the radio would give the traffic report every day in [00:04:00] 5 64, which is around Naval station.
[00:04:02] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Norfolk was always backed up and I thought, gosh, those poor people over there, that sounds like it really sucks for them. Like I just never, it never was a thing that like affected my day to day life or that I had any interest in, you know, looking into, it was just that thing over there with all the ships that you saw when you left, you know, flew out of, um, Norfolk international airport, like you could see everything.
[00:04:29] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And so my knowledge base was really little. I had an uncle who was in the air force. Um, But, you know, he had been stationed kind of all over and really only stationed in Virginia for a short part of his career. And so I knew that he flew planes, but that was kind of it. And other than that, like, I didn't really have any touchpoints with the military.
[00:04:49] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Yeah, which I find so fascinating because I mean, as you know, like once you meet a service member and it becomes clear that, oh, hi, this is the love of my life. I guess we're gonna be together [00:05:00] forever. Uh, we should learn about each other. Tell me everything having to do with your career, please. And you not understanding like hardly a word of it.
[00:05:11] Jayla Rae Ardelean: And just like, what, wait, what is that? First of all, what does that acronym mean? You need to slow down and secondly, I, you need to talk to me, like, I don't know anything about the military because we do, we did, you're telling me you have an awareness level cuz like of where you lived. So clearly it was on your mind and it was there, but you don't need to know all that stuff.
[00:05:36] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Until suddenly you do. So
[00:05:38] Jenny Lynne Stroup: mm-hmm
[00:05:39] Jayla Rae Ardelean: I just wanna hear a little bit more about like what your learning curve was like after getting into a relationship with him and like, what was that like for you?
[00:05:49] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Uh, it was a big learning curve. Um, you know, and I think the longer we've been together and the, you know, the more seasoned I have become as a [00:06:00] spouse, like the more I realize what a learning curve it was for everybody around me too.
[00:06:06] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Um, you know, again, like my dad's brother had been in the air force, but like, It was not something that we dealt with as a family. We for sure didn't know the acronyms or, or even like what it would really take to be a military family. Um, you know, I am really thankful that now after about 10 years, we're stationed back in the Hampton Roads area and my parents are here.
[00:06:32] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I've had a lot of support from them. Um, since we've moved back, you know, traveling for work and things, they come and they watch my kids, but. This was all new for them too. And, and still is like, we've been away for 10 years now, we're back. And we're like, Hey, Matthew's out to sea, I gotta go to work. Like, can you come hang out with the kids?
[00:06:51] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And, you know, the, the schedules and the fast pace and the, the. The [00:07:00] unpredictable ency of unknown. Yeah. The, the, the predictable unpredictable of like all of this, um,
[00:07:07] Jayla Rae Ardelean: it becomes, it becomes so difficult to describe to family
[00:07:12] Jenny Lynne Stroup: yeah.
[00:07:13] Jayla Rae Ardelean: And friends.
[00:07:14] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yeah.
[00:07:15] Jayla Rae Ardelean: You almost feel like you're talking in circles and like, and then you start to feel almost like you're making excuses for how hard it is.
[00:07:23] Jayla Rae Ardelean: And then you kind of have to remind yourself and put yourself back and check and. No, this is like so many of these factors are outta my control. And I'm just trying to describe how much of that is actually outta my control so that
[00:07:36] Jenny Lynne Stroup: yeah,
[00:07:37] Jayla Rae Ardelean: someone understands why I'm asking them to help me with something or why I can't go see them during this month or why they can't come here during this month or whatever the case may be.
[00:07:50] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Mm-hmm . Well then for us, like, I mean, when Matthew and I met, he was a junior enlisted sailor on shore duty. So [00:08:00] he basically worked shift work. You know, he had the early shift, he got off at two, he and his buddies, he would wrangle a bunch of other, you know, junior sailors and to come out to my school to volunteer, like with my class.
[00:08:13] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And so we had a very like nice and easy, like you work shift work. I teach like, you know, we had a pretty consistent routine. And since that very first duty station, we have never had another, another one that looked anything even remotely as like serene and consistent as that one was so. Trying to explain why it looked like that at the beginning.
[00:08:44] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Right.
[00:08:44] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And it just never looked like that again. Um, has also been a huge learning curve for me in trying to explain it.
[00:08:53] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Yeah.
[00:08:53] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And also for everybody else in trying to digest well, like what's happening. I mean, when you guys met, like he even volunteered with you all the time and I'm like, [00:09:00] yeah, he was a E 1 like on shift work and now he's not.
[00:09:08] Jayla Rae Ardelean: And now things are different. So yeah, the dynamic changed
[00:09:13] Jenny Lynne Stroup: mm-hmm mm-hmm
[00:09:15] Jayla Rae Ardelean: and that's the other thing about not understanding how, I don't know how service members move up in the ranks or how like promotions work or how career shifts work within the military. Those are all huge learning curves too.
[00:09:32] Jayla Rae Ardelean: And I. I still struggle describing that to people
[00:09:37] Jenny Lynne Stroup: mm-hmm
[00:09:38] Jayla Rae Ardelean: cause I, you know, he, when we first met, he was just promoted to major. So like oh, four ranking in the army. So like, people would say that to me,
[00:09:49] Jenny Lynne Stroup: clarifying that
[00:09:50] Jayla Rae Ardelean: they'd be like, oh, he's in 0 4. And I'd be like, I don't know what the F that means.
[00:09:55] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Why are you saying it to me like that? Like, I should be proud of it or something, cuz I'm [00:10:00] not really sure what that is supposed to mean.
[00:10:02] Jenny Lynne Stroup: yeah.
[00:10:03] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Um, and then obviously like, you know, veterans and like ex-service members and stuff like that I was working with, they had a lot of questions about what he did too.
[00:10:11] Jayla Rae Ardelean: I'm like he's an infantry officer. I don't know what he does.
[00:10:15] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Mm-hmm
[00:10:16] Jayla Rae Ardelean: um, but then he also made a huge career shift about a year, year and a half into our relationship to become a foreign area officer. I had no idea how to explain that to people. I still don't under, I still don't know how to explain to people what it is that he does.
[00:10:35] Jayla Rae Ardelean: I feel like I only describe about 30% of his actual role and miss you know the rest of it.
[00:10:45] Jenny Lynne Stroup: yeah. I mean, you know, it's funny. I think sometimes we get down ourselves as spouses, if we don't know all of those answers, but like, do you really know, does anybody really know all the things, our spouses at work? Like I'm gonna go on a [00:11:00] limb here and say, probably not. Like we're all probably describing 30 to 50%.
[00:11:05] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And especially if you're in a military community, I mean, I don't know any of those words you just said either. So I don't know what that means, but like, I mean, with my own spouse's group, there's a portion that he has to keep stealth. Like it's a security level thing that I'm never gonna know what he does and go, oh, well.
[00:11:24] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Alright cool.
[00:11:26] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Yeah. And there's always, there's always like a small, well, for some people it's a large percentage, but you know, I think for us, it's like a small percentage that like we, yeah, we don't know. And, and anytime you tell a friend or a family member that you don't know. Oh my gosh, the assumptions that start flying about what they do in the military is hilarious.
[00:11:49] Jayla Rae Ardelean: like suddenly, suddenly he's Jason born. Suddenly he actually works for the CIA and isn't working for the military at all. Suddenly like just, oh my gosh. [00:12:00] Yeah. All of the sensationalized ideas of what we have what it means to do like secretive things in the military. I'm just like, oh my gosh, just cuz he can't share 15% of what he does doesn't mean because it's a secret operative.
[00:12:15] Jayla Rae Ardelean: It just means that it's privileged information to only people who need to know it. And we are not those people.
[00:12:21] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yeah.
[00:12:23] Jayla Rae Ardelean: And you, sir, certainly aren't that person either. You don't need to know that
[00:12:29] Jenny Lynne Stroup: It's interesting that you bring that as you were talking. I was thinking like, oh man, all of the assumptions of military life, like probably ones that I held too before being indoctrinated into this life.
[00:12:42] Jenny Lynne Stroup: But like right before my husband deployed on his first carrier deployment, Kay Jewelers put out this commercial for Valentine's day where basically, I mean, In old school language, it was VTC video [00:13:00] teleconference. They basically had a commercial where there was a pilot who got to VTC with his spouse and their son gave his spouse like a Kay jewelers box for Valentine's Day with a necklace, you know, and they're on this VTC, like, and she's like, oh, thank you so much.
[00:13:18] Jenny Lynne Stroup: You know? And there's like, you know, operatives going on in the back of. Anyway came out like right before Matthew deployed and he deploys and they're like, well, I mean, you're gonna get to like see him. Right. And I was like, yeah, that's not real. like, that's a commercial. I will get to see him when this ship pulls into a port somewhere.
[00:13:41] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And he can go to an internet cafe and queue up wifi on his phone. Like. Nope. He's not video teleconferencing me from the ship to hand me a jewelry box. Like that's not, that's not real life. Like that's never, it's not gonna happen [00:14:00] about, they're not gonna fly him home for the birth of our child. He doesn't get to take an F 18 back to Norfolk, like that's not gonna happen.
[00:14:07] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Um, and you know, and then he went from a ship deployment to Afghanistan. People were like, well, what ship is he on? And we're like, Afghanistan's landlocked. There is no water. He's going with the army and trying to explain that was even more of a, more of a thing
[00:14:25] Jayla Rae Ardelean: you kind of just blew my mind too. I was like, oh wait, that is a thing.
[00:14:29] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Yeah, that is a thing that happens. Oh, interesting. Okay. Joint, joint operatives. Yes. That is a thing. Okay.
[00:14:37] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Mm-hmm mm-hmm mm-hmm yeah. You tell people your sailors at Afghanistan. They're like, yes. What ships you on? And you're like, he's not. No ships there and they're like, well, what, um, what what's happening in your that's not computed.
[00:14:50] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Look at a map we've been at work for 20 years. Like
[00:14:55] Jayla Rae Ardelean: well, I think the other thing that kind of, um, unites [00:15:00] us too as late career mil spouses is that when we do have those cornerstone military life experiences like deployments, um, for me, my first deployment experience wasn't until just about a year ago, uh, when he left.
[00:15:17] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Um, I know that's not this, that's not the case for you cuz I know what happened, uh, in, early on in your marriage and like how soon that actually started for y'all. Can you tell me a little bit more about like what that was like for you to experience something that you knew was such a big part of military life and yet first of all, you didn't ever see it for yourself. Cause like neither one of us wanted to meet somebody in the military. That is not what we were . That's not what we were hoping for. That's definitely not what we were shooting for. It just kind of happened that way.
[00:15:50] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yeah.
[00:15:51] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Um, so I never thought I would experience something like a deployment.
[00:15:55] Jayla Rae Ardelean: So what did that feel like for you? Was it surreal or was it [00:16:00] like, oh, okay.
[00:16:03] Jenny Lynne Stroup: um, yeah, I Don. I don't think anything ever truly prepares you for what it's gonna feel like to do that. And certainly, I mean, again, we met and he was a junior enlisted sailor on shore duty. he got to come home every night.
[00:16:25] Jenny Lynne Stroup: You know, for the Navy, what a lot of people don't quite get either is it's not really even the deployment that you have to like gear up for it's that they spend several months to a year doing these workup cycles. And he's like home a week and gone two weeks and home 48 hours and gone four weeks. And so.
[00:16:46] Jenny Lynne Stroup: You know, we'd gone from like, Hey, you come home every night by, you know, well, before dinner, like in fact, sometimes you're making dinner cuz as a teacher, I got off later than you like to this just in and out and not [00:17:00] really knowing, um, How those workups were gonna shift and how all those things. And so by the time, honestly, by the time you get to deployment, you're like, dude, like, let's just do the thing.
[00:17:12] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Like let's just do like the multiple months at a time because this in and out is really, really hard. Um, and so when he deployed, I was eight months pregnant with our second child. We had a one and a half year old at the time. And so the whole thing was just like, I, I didn't really know which end was up.
[00:17:35] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I mean, we had a toddler, I was pregnant and he was leaving for seven months and, you know, we had a whole, like, there was a whole lot of life that happened while he was gone. I mean, like a whole new life um, you know, and so. I had our second child a month into a seven month deployment. So he met our youngest on the pier when he was six months old.[00:18:00]
[00:18:00] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Um, and that's something that like, even our youngest is now 11, almost 11. you know, that, I don't know either of us have ever like taken the time to unpack and gone. Well, it's kind of weird, like, cuz it's just, it's just another military thing. Like. That story's not unique. I mean, this is a very common military story.
[00:18:22] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Again, definitely not one that I was like, wow, let's try that. Like
[00:18:27] Jayla Rae Ardelean: well, right. It might be a common military story, but because you spent so much of your life before meeting him,
[00:18:35] Jenny Lynne Stroup: mm-hmm,
[00:18:35] Jayla Rae Ardelean: not thinking that you would ever have to experience those common military moments. Um, it it's such a. I'm just, it's just such a mind fuck. Like, I don't know any other word to describe it. Sorry, Jenny Lynne. Sorry.
[00:18:53] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I'm a sailor's wife. That doesn't be not offensive to me.
[00:18:57] Jayla Rae Ardelean: but it's just such, because you never saw it for [00:19:00] yourself and you never really saw it coming. It's kind of like when those things happen. It's kind of like swinging back and forth between, oh, this is common for other people in the military.
[00:19:13] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Mm-hmm
[00:19:13] Jayla Rae Ardelean: and therefore I have now joined those people between that and then swinging the other direction of, I never saw this coming in my life. And why is it happening and why is it happening to me? Why is it happening to us? Like it. It's kind of like a pendulum effect almost. Do you relate to that? Is that like a good way to describe that?
[00:19:38] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I mean, I think what I was really unprepared for and all of that, and I have to say, you know, we, we talked about acronyms and we talked about like assimilating in the lifestyle. I am very fortunate that I have a husband that almost overcommunicates on that stuff. So. I have a pretty good idea of what's going on with him at work.
[00:19:58] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And I have a pretty good idea of like the [00:20:00] who's who in the room when I go to a thing, because he's really good at that. But again, there would, no matter how many times people have had children, while their spouses on deployment, like nothing prepares you to go through it until you do it.
[00:20:18] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Right.
[00:20:18] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And it was one of those,
[00:20:19] Jenny Lynne Stroup: like, You know, the first several months was like, oh my gosh, I have a toddler and a newborn.
[00:20:26] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And I was again, very fortunate to live in the area where I had family and support. And that was all very helpful, but still coming to terms with like, it felt very lonely. Um, you know, I was living with my parents. I had the, their full support. I was in the area I grew up in. I had a lot of friends here and there was still this like, Something's missing piece, that I don't know of, that I would've ever known what that was like until I had to go through it.
[00:20:58] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Yeah.
[00:20:58] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Um, [00:21:00] And that was weird and it was hard and it was hard to . I don't know that I ever voiced it while it was happening. It has definitely been through years of therapy and, um, , you know, mentorship with other people that I've been able to go, oh, that's what that was like. That's what that feeling was like.
[00:21:18] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I was lonely, weird, like, well,
[00:21:23] Jayla Rae Ardelean: that feeling of loneliness. It kind of like spans so many other emotions that like get wrapped up in it so I can see how it would take a long time to kind of dissect. how did I really feel back then?
[00:21:36] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Mm-hmm
[00:21:37] Jayla Rae Ardelean: why was it so hard to process through this and you know, why am I still processing through it?
[00:21:42] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Or, you know, whatever the wherever you're at, in your mind after some time has passed. And that's one of the, I mean, I guess it's kind of one of the unfortunate things about military life, but also one of the beautiful things about it, too. Sometimes stuff [00:22:00] happens that you don't really have time to sit and analyze and then
[00:22:07] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Because the next things already coming your way.
[00:22:10] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Right. And then the next thing is coming and, you know, we talk a lot about like, you know, oh, how resilient military spouses are and, and all these things. And it's like, well, is it sometimes it's like, is it resiliency or is. if I stop to think and feel all of this, I will crash. And that is not an option right now.
[00:22:29] Jayla Rae Ardelean: And so therefore, I've got to compartmentalize, even though I'm not, I'm not a compartmentalizer. Everybody who is hearing this right now, Jenny Lynne knows this about me too, because I've, I went into it. on great length over on holding down the Fort, but I'm really, I'm really not like that.
[00:22:50] Jayla Rae Ardelean: So anytime I've been forced to do that. It's been, it's just been, it's felt so momentous to me.
[00:22:57] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Mm-hmm
[00:22:57] Jayla Rae Ardelean: and then I get pissed about the fact that I had to [00:23:00] compartmentalize and then I have to work through all that. . So it's kind of just a little bit of a cycle there. Fun little cycle.
[00:23:09] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yeah. Well, I mean, it was like that for me, because we did that deployment and six months later he deployed again and it was like,
[00:23:22] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Didn't even have time to come off of the first one and to like get back, you know, get back into your own groove and to process everything that happened or for him to get to know his child that he just met.
[00:23:34] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Like .
[00:23:35] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yeah. Yeah. Cuz in that six months let's be honest. It wasn't like he was home every day. In those six months, he was still attached to a ship that was operational. That was doing more operational things like they weren't deployed, but they weren't just sitting there either. Um, yeah. And I, uh, gosh, I think back on that time, and sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday and sometimes it feels like it was a hundred years ago.
[00:23:59] Jenny Lynne Stroup: just [00:24:00] the amount of like our first five years of marriage, the first time we went to any kind of like couples counseling or retreat, I don't even remember which one it was at this point, you know, they're like, so tell us about your relationship. you know, and four hours later we finished like the first three years of our marriage.
[00:24:21] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And they were like, well, I mean, how long have you guys been married? We were like, mm, four years. They're like, no, but really though. And we're like, no, no, all of that life was crammed into that very small amount of time, which is now why we're here on your couch, because we've literally never had time to process it ever.
[00:24:38] Jenny Lynne Stroup: We just had to keep moving because all of those things were happening that quickly. Um, and again, that's something I think, you know, I, I wouldn't have known that prior to marrying into this. Like that's not something that would've ever crossed my mind.
[00:24:58] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Right. Well, and it's [00:25:00] not, it's not something that you want to be a reality.
[00:25:03] Jayla Rae Ardelean: I mean, , that's actually one of the things that I've, I've probably done a poor job at describing to friends and family is like, How much is packed in just to a six month period or a one year period
[00:25:17] Jenny Lynne Stroup: mm-hmm
[00:25:17] Jayla Rae Ardelean: and you know, by year two of our relationship, when we're actually getting married, I feel like we've already been together for five years.
[00:25:25] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Like it feels like things have been moving at lightning speed and also slowed down at the exact same time, which makes no sense. and the amount that you pack into that time of like PCSing and just, oh my gosh. It was it's crazy. It's still crazy to think back on that time and just, I don't even know if I fully processed all the crap that happened either.
[00:25:50] Jayla Rae Ardelean: I. I'm a deep feeler and I don't, I don't know that I even went through all of them. like, I don't even know if I went through the whole processing phase. It's it's [00:26:00] tough to when there's another curve ball being thrown your way.
[00:26:03] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yep. Oh, for sure.
[00:26:04] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Yeah. So another thing I wanted to chat about you with was the fact that this entering military life clearly had an impact on the career path that you were hoping for yourself. So I wondered just how many times you have had to pivot in your career since entering military life.
[00:26:26] Jenny Lynne Stroup: we have four hours or...?
[00:26:30] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Three times, no. Less than three times.
[00:26:32] Jenny Lynne Stroup: uh, yeah. True. Yeah. I mean, Like I said, when I met Matthew, I just started teaching.
[00:26:40] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I was still paying off my student loan for going to graduate school.
[00:26:44] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Right.
[00:26:44] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And really thought that I was going to be an elementary school teacher until I retired from being an elementary school teacher, because I had made that career. My undergraduate degree is in marketing management and I got a business [00:27:00] degree because I didn't know what I wanted to do.
[00:27:03] Jenny Lynne Stroup: and you can do anything with a business degree except teach elementary school in which you have to have a master's degree and also a license. So, you know, that was shift number one that had nothing to do with the military, everything to do with me, not knowing what I wanted to be when I grew up.
[00:27:20] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Um, you know, and I went school teacher, cuz I thought, oh, I can have a family and have a career. And we would be on the same schedule and I'd, you know, been very thoughtful about all of those things. and then I met and married someone in the military and I stopped teaching right before matthew's first deployment because I had a one year old and I was pregnant with our second and it just was, he was never home and it was too much for me.
[00:27:55] Jenny Lynne Stroup: and for us as a family. And then after that, I did not [00:28:00] work for several years because it is really difficult to license everywhere you move. Um, some states make it easier than others and thanks to programs like joining forces and some other things that are out there, like they're trying to make a licensure, not a barrier to employment, but I mean, it was when, when I was trying to do it and also the challenges that PCSs bring that a lot of people don't understand is even though we are given allotments for housing that are supposed to reflect the market you're in, they often don't.
[00:28:46] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And then it's all the other things where you might have allowance for housing, but we had two kids and for me to go back to work, that was two like childcare cost and it just wasn't [00:29:00] the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. I was going to be working to pay for childcare and not making any money. Right. And it was like, well, then I might as well just stay home. And I, you know, I mean, that's a story. I hear a lot, um, From a lot of spouses because it just, by the time you add in the cost of relicensing and then childcare and then the job hunt, I mean, you're moving again. Like what's the point. and so that was kind of my, kind of, kind of the model, our first PCs.
[00:29:28] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Our second PCs, both of our children were school age, and I did get a temporary license. I got like. Conditional license in the state of California. And I actually taught at the elementary school, they both went to, so it was like the best of both worlds. There was childcare cuz they were in school and also I was teaching.
[00:29:47] Jenny Lynne Stroup: When I went back to teach in California, I loved the people I taught with. I loved the kids, but I realized like, oh, this is not where I'm best suited. Um, [00:30:00] by that point I'd done a lot of leadership things with mothers of preschoolers (MOPS), you know, some things with my church and, I'd done some part-time work with, ,the USO and just was like, oh, I really love education but I really like being with adults like this is adults or where. I think I, I prefer to spend my, my daily hours
[00:30:25] Jenny Lynne Stroup: and also by that point, I had navigated a lot of mental health challenges for my family. And so, you know, I had done all of the calls for care and things for myself and my kids and, you know, for us as a couple and, um, really realized that's, that's really where my, I hate saying the word passion, but like, that's really where like my heart was, was being with other military spouses and other military [00:31:00] families that I would see really, it started through MOPS. I was a table leader and I was on the leadership team and I would start talking about things that I was seeing at my house.
[00:31:12] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And the more I would talk about things that I was seeing at my house. The more other people at the table would go, huh? Hey, can I grab you? Like after this, Hey, can we get coffee? Like, and I started becoming the person that got text at night that was like, Hey, I can't tell anybody else this, but can I tell you?
[00:31:34] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And so I really kind of realized then that I mental health was really important to me. And it was clear that it was an important need in our community. Um, and so I, when the position opened at the current clinic that I work for as, um, for outreach, I applied for the job and said, you know, [00:32:00] I don't know who better to outreach for a military mental health clinic than a military family member who has benefited from good mental health services.
[00:32:10] Jenny Lynne Stroup: and that's how I ended up here. And I am grateful that it is not a position that requires licensure. I am grateful to the leadership of my clinic, who, um, I have done the job remotely from day one because I was hired during COVID. and so I had to do outreach for my computer via zoom. And so when we PCSD across the country, my leadership said, Hey, like you've you've done this all from the computer. Anyway, I don't see why it has to be different on the east coast. And so at the moment of recording, I am still working remotely for the Cohen clinic at VVS D as the outreach person. I really enjoy what I do. I love building relationships within the community.
[00:32:54] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I love sharing a little bit of my story and hearing other peoples, and I love helping them get the care that they need.. [00:33:00]
[00:33:01] Jayla Rae Ardelean: That was so beautiful. Thank you for sharing. Oh my gosh. I love how I ask you one question. You're like, let me fill in all the blanks for you.
[00:33:12] Jayla Rae Ardelean: When I asked you about how many pivots you've had to make, I think a theme is what I'm finding with a lot of spouses in general, but also late career mill spouses. Is that. Sort of turning over our original career desire.
[00:33:33] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Mm-hmm
[00:33:33] Jayla Rae Ardelean: is hard. Obviously there's a grieving process. I'm still grieving.
[00:33:37] Jayla Rae Ardelean: It it's been years. It still upsets me sometimes
[00:33:41] Jenny Lynne Stroup: mm-hmm
[00:33:41] Jayla Rae Ardelean: but I even had to do that. Um, but a theme I'm noticing is that because we struggled so hard with those kinds of challenges. We then look outward to other spouses who may be struggling with the same things in your case, it was mental health. And then [00:34:00] suddenly we , we turned our employment into assisting other military families
[00:34:09] Jenny Lynne Stroup: mm-hmm
[00:34:09] Jayla Rae Ardelean: and then suddenly we're like deeply entrenched in our communities and in military life. And that's also not something that we saw for ourselves. So then it's just, it's just kind of shocking on all levels. It's like, oh, I had, um, at least for me, I didn't, I will just speak for myself in saying this, but I I didn't really accept my identity as a military spouse for the first couple years and I realized that that was, uh, partly a privilege that I could do that. And secondly, I, I know that it's a common thing that it's like, you don't know how to, and it's all so new and there's so much that's fluctuating that it just feels very. It feels confusing. It feels confusing to then wrap that up, up in all of your other identities in a very [00:35:00] sudden way.
[00:35:01] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Um, but I never saw myself becoming a military spouse mentor, just like you probably never saw yourself working for an organization like this, or foregoing a career in education and just dropping the whole, oh my gosh. It's a nightmare to deal with licensure. And now. I can just do this. how cool
[00:35:27] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I know. Yeah. You know, I think it speaks volumes to our community too.
[00:35:32] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I was very fortunate that early on The family readiness group of the, the carrier that my husband was attached to for his first deployment was very active. And the leadership of that carrier and the spouses of those leaders were really involved with the families.
[00:35:52] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And so, you know, we were like, oh gosh, that was 2010. I [00:36:00] mean, we'd been married like a year and I joined a community that was very supportive. And so really from like a year into this had great mentorship of people who'd been doing this, literally like the woman I'm thinking of specifically, I mean, her husband like graduated from the Naval academy the year I was born.
[00:36:23] Jenny Lynne Stroup: So they'd literally been doing the Navy thing, like my whole life. And so that set the tone for me. And, and the way that I have been able to one identify as military spouse and two, like live this lifestyle the way that I do. And so, especially in like some of those leadership roles I had in like other non-military organizations, but had a lot of military spouse members. Hearing the stories of people that did not have a great experience with like a spouse club or a family readiness group or any like [00:37:00] broke my heart because that, you know, I'd been married a year and I had great mentorship and support and that.
[00:37:12] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Then made it something I've sought out everywhere else I've been and has also enabled me to be that for other people, because I've had such good, solid friendship and mentorship in the community. And I think it's hard. You know, I mean, I was old. Like we keep talking about like career spouse. We were just old.
[00:37:34] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Like I was actually, I actually . I mean, in military terms, we were just old. Like, that's really where
[00:37:40] Jayla Rae Ardelean: I know, I know that y'all were quote unquote old. Okay. But
[00:37:46] Jenny Lynne Stroup: yeah like we, I mean, I actually married Matthew very early in his career. We were just old, all things considered by military terms.
[00:37:54] Jayla Rae Ardelean: But I think where you were going with that is like, yes, your age was a factor in which you joined the [00:38:00] lifestyle
[00:38:00] Jenny Lynne Stroup: mm-hmm
[00:38:01] Jayla Rae Ardelean: but you were also surrounded by people who may be the same age as you, but had been in the lifestyle.
[00:38:06] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Mm-hmm
[00:38:06] Jayla Rae Ardelean: like for so long, right? Like that example you gave your entire life. I mean, clearly that person was older than you, but you know, it's just, it, time is, I don't know, time, man.
[00:38:22] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yeah, but I mean that, like that foundation for me really is really what set me up. I think, to be able to pivot in the ways that I, that I did.
[00:38:34] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I mean, cuz a lot of the people that have been my mentors and friends, you know, also had careers and either chose to give them up because they wanted to be more involved in the community or continue to try and do both. And I've seen both work really well, and it just kind of comes down to like what fits you best and your, you know, your personality and what works for [00:39:00] you.
[00:39:00] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And I think, you know, from a mentorship perspective, I don't know how many, like young spouses listen to your podcast, but I would just say, I know it's really tempting to not identify yourself as a military spouse and, and to think, oh, that's just the thing my husband does. Um, but this is a really great community.
[00:39:24] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Like it really is. I mean, and, and across the community, like. I love that, like through the podcast world and through like the AFI and MSOY stuff, like I've gotten to meet so many people outside department of the Navy. I mean, cuz that's really like when I say mill spouse, I am, I automatically am thinking like Navy spouse, but really like, I mean, as I'm sure you're thinking like army spouse, like, you're just like, that's what you,
[00:39:53] Jayla Rae Ardelean: I mean, yeah, it's probably the first thought, but then the second one is okay, correction, you know
[00:39:59] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yeah. [00:40:00] But it's like, you're just kinda habit. And then you're like, oh, that person is speaking a completely different language than me. And you're like, oh and there. So much to learn. Like it's so interesting. And everybody brings such a unique background to this and has a unique experience. And also there's such a collective like, oh, PCS. Mm girl, like,
[00:40:24] Jayla Rae Ardelean: well it's a shared understanding.
[00:40:27] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yeah.
[00:40:27] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Like, you know, if I hop onto a masterclass and I'm like, I'm in hashtag PCs season, everybody's like, we're behind you. We've got you. Yes, you're doing great. Keep going. You know, it just that shared understanding and that collective that you're talking about, yes we may speak completely different languages, a cross branches and across roles within those branches and then across sub roles within those roles within those branches.
[00:40:53] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yeah.
[00:40:53] Jayla Rae Ardelean: But there is. There is this collective mm-hmm and I love that you're [00:41:00] encouraging, you know, younger military spouses, like as they're entering this lifestyle to not reject that piece of their identity for too long.
[00:41:10] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Um, I appreciate that I did that in the beginning because it, it. It actually helped teach me what I was missing out on, in a, in a hard way. Like, it was kind of a hard lesson, you know, I clearly I needed to learn it the hard way and I couldn't learn it the easy way. Um, but I love that that's your advice to them because this is an addition to your identity.
[00:41:34] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Yes because it's being thrown in it is shifting other aspects of your identity around because your lifestyle circumstances have now changed, but the, the stripping away and like it's replacing something else. I think. We think that it needs to be that, and it doesn't, it doesn't actually need to be that.
[00:41:58] Jayla Rae Ardelean: And if I'm not in a [00:42:00] military circle, I'm not gonna tell somebody that I'm a military spouse as like my first identifier. I'm always gonna list off other identifiers first. Then as the conversation progresses, we might get into the fact that I'm a military spouse, but like, so I'm still not gonna lead with it.
[00:42:17] Jayla Rae Ardelean: But you best believe at this point? , if I am in a military spouse circle or a veteran circle, or just around my husband's friends, like that's the central focus and the theme of the conversation. And it's comforting now to me, It's of great comfort now. It used to be something that I just didn't wanna face
[00:42:43] Jenny Lynne Stroup: because what did that mean for you? If you faced that? Like, what did that. Why did you have to learn it the
[00:42:49] Jayla Rae Ardelean: hard way? Yeah, I think at the time, I think what I'm alluding to is that at the time I thought if I accept the fact that I'm a military spouse, it means that I will never have a [00:43:00] career and I will never get to pursue the amount of ambition that I have for myself.
[00:43:06] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Mm-hmm
[00:43:07] Jayla Rae Ardelean: um, cuz one of the thing that unifies us as late career spouses is we often have advanced degrees. We often have a career track that we are already on at the time we're meeting our spouse and then we need to make all these pivots and adjustments. And unfortunately that can lead to resentment if you are not handling it if you're not,
[00:43:32] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Does it?
[00:43:35] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Do you wanna, do you wanna tell me what you said on the couch? Jenny Lynne, that one time, cuz I'm sure that was part of it.
[00:43:42] Jenny Lynne Stroup: resentment to see her. Everything's fine.
[00:43:45] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Yeah, I, yeah. So I think that's what it meant for me at the time back then, I was like, if I, if I accept this, if I lead with this, it means that I'm giving up this whole other piece of myself, when in reality, it just, it just [00:44:00] meant that I needed to make an adjustment, make a pivot, envision something new. And you know, like I said earlier, I still, I still grieve the fact that I never got to enter the publishing world. It still stings sometimes. But what I'm doing now is also fulfilling and I, I love this too. So. Yeah.
[00:44:22] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yeah. Yeah. Then I love that you talk about it as part of your identity though. I think that one of the things that one of my mentors also military spouse, um, always was like, Hey, have, like multiple groups, you know? I mean, she was really big on like, I love my military spouse, friends, and you guys can come over whenever, wherever
[00:44:48] Jenny Lynne Stroup: also I have a church group and I have a workout group and I have it, this, and I have it that because I, this is not the only thing that I am, and it's not the only thing that I do. And it's not the only thing that I find joy [00:45:00] or happiness or whatever in. And I think for me, when I, I had to really hard time and come to Jesus with that, when we PCSD, even though I'd stopped teaching, like a year and a half a year and a half before we PCSD, it was like that knowing that I couldn't necessarily relicense there and get a job and get the childcare I needed. I had a, I flailed hard
[00:45:34] Jayla Rae Ardelean: yeah.
[00:45:35] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I was in my early to mid thirties and I flailed hard and
[00:45:40] Jayla Rae Ardelean: yeah, I've done some flailing
[00:45:42] Jenny Lynne Stroup: yeah,
[00:45:43] Jayla Rae Ardelean: done a lot of flailing.
[00:45:43] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Definitely. There was a lot of resentment there and it definitely caused a lot of conversation and, um, you know, I just turned 40 last Monday,
[00:45:54] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Jenny Lynne,
[00:45:57] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And I'm like, I'm like waiting for [00:46:00] like the sink in of people. Like, Hey, you turned 40 and you just feel so much like yourself. And I'm like, all right, any day now, any, any day, any day now I'll feel wholy like myself.
[00:46:11] Jenny Lynne Stroup: It'll be awesome. However, that being said, I mean, I am. Great at pivoting and reinventing and figuring out something that'll work in this season. I think that's the big thing about being a military spouse is all of this is a season like we're here for two years. and it'll be another season somewhere else.
[00:46:32] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Right, right. There's well, there's so much, there's so much change to like look forward to, and to also anticipate and to get anxious over
[00:46:41] Jenny Lynne Stroup: mm-hmm
[00:46:42] Jayla Rae Ardelean: um, , but that is part of, I mean, you're right. That is kind of part of like the reinvention and the pivoting that happens. And. . I mean, it's easy to say, well, that's outta my control and therefore I don't like it and I resent it.
[00:46:58] Jayla Rae Ardelean: And why is this [00:47:00] happening to me? But the other side of that coin is like, well, what can I do with this? What can I make of this? How can I help myself? How can I support myself through this and seek out the support that I'm gonna need externally too? I mean, I love that, you know, that spouse was giving you the, uh, your mentor was giving you the example of joining different groups.
[00:47:20] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Mm-hmm,
[00:47:21] Jayla Rae Ardelean: like, I mean, I have, you know, for example, at the time of recording, which we do need to stop doing soon, cuz I have to go to the airport to pick up a friend. Who's not a military spouse and I'm joined, she's being joined by one other person. And it's like, this is a friend group. This is a work friend group.
[00:47:40] Jayla Rae Ardelean: It started as a work friend group and they're acutely aware of everything like military life related. Cuz I share. Um, but they're not like they're not in this, you know, and they're, they're apart from it and they're separate from it and it feels good to have people like that too. Just like [00:48:00] having people on the inside mm-hmm
[00:48:03] Jenny Lynne Stroup: mm-hmm
[00:48:04] Jayla Rae Ardelean: I think it's so important and it, and it helps to, um, You know, at the beginning of our conversation, we were talking about challenges we've had with explaining and describing military life to people who don't get it.
[00:48:15] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Cause like you don't get it either. so, but it's always nice to have people outside of the community too, because they, they kind of keep you sharp in a way. Yeah. Like they, they ask you questions. Or feel kind of rudimentary to you in a way, but you're like, oh wait, how do I back up? Cause I am 10 steps ahead in order to answer this question, but they just want basic level knowledge, like foundational knowledge.
[00:48:46] Jayla Rae Ardelean: And I don't know how to back up, cuz I never learned the foundational knowledge. I just learned, you know, five steps above that or whatever. So it's a, it's a whole thing.[00:49:00] .
[00:49:01] Jenny Lynne Stroup: You make a great point about being five steps ahead. I realize how often I just start talking and I'm like seeing people's face and I'm like, oh crap.
[00:49:10] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Like I lost them about 15 sentences ago. you know, and that, that is the other thing that's come out of. All of these pivots is realizing, and it's really been looking at my own, like family of origin going, I could have done a lot of things better to indoctrinate them into the way that this goes, even though I'm learning it real time too.
[00:49:31] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Like I, and so I, in addition to advocating for military mental health, military family, mental health, like one of the big things that I have found that I really enjoy is like bringing civilians into this community. I mean, we're surrounded by them. Like I live in a very military area and like literally every other house on my block currently is someone who's retired from the military, but that means all that 50% of the houses are not.[00:50:00]
[00:50:00] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Yeah.
[00:50:00] Jenny Lynne Stroup: And it's like, we live in a neighborhood with some people who inherently get it and some people who inherently don't and how do we as military, like community members, you know, indoctrinate our community to how we live. And that's become really important to me because we are such a small sector of the U.S. Population.
[00:50:24] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I mean, you and I represent 0.2 5% of the entire American population,
[00:50:30] Jayla Rae Ardelean: which is crazy. Cuz when you're on Instagram, for example, you're like, wow, this feels small.
[00:50:36] Jenny Lynne Stroup: That's because we know all the same people cuz we know
[00:50:41] Jayla Rae Ardelean: well, it feels, it, it goes back and forth, right? It's like, oh, it feels small because once you know, one person that person connects you to six people, six degree. But especially when you're scrolling through Instagram and the algorithm is feeding you content that it, you know, it's gonna like, that's when it [00:51:00] actually starts to feel big to me.
[00:51:01] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Mm-hmm
[00:51:02] Jayla Rae Ardelean: and like, there are so many military spouses how do we all wanna do the exact same thing online? What is happening? Like, yeah, but it's true. We're only 0.2, five, like that's so tiny. That's tiny.
[00:51:20] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yeah. So being able to roll it 10 steps back or not being so indoctrinated into lifestyle that that's all you speak is an equally as important skill.
[00:51:30] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Yeah,
[00:51:31] Jayla Rae Ardelean: well, yeah, no, and you're reminding me too. I'm like, okay, I need to work on that. I need to, I need to work on that. And well, cuz when you describe what's happening to those that you love, that aren't a part of this community. Like what you are hoping for is connection. Like you want them to understand you.
[00:51:50] Jayla Rae Ardelean: And you want to understand them and their lack of understanding over, you know, certain topics or, or areas having to do [00:52:00] with the military. so it is, it is all about connection. So it's like the better you can, you know, the better you can describe this. Like it only improves, improves that connection point and it fosters more conversations in the future. And I appreciate. You and Jen and all the work that you're doing in that area.
[00:52:19] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Well, thank you.
[00:52:20] Jayla Rae Ardelean: It really means a lot to me. And I know it means a lot to a lot of us, military spouses. So thank you.
[00:52:27] Jenny Lynne Stroup: thank you. We're happy to do it.
[00:52:29] Jayla Rae Ardelean: All right. Well, why don't you let everybody know where they can find you online.
[00:52:33] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Can connect with you further and, and then we have to go
[00:52:39] Jenny Lynne Stroup: no, cause you have to go to the airport. I get to go like make dinner. My husband's on duty today. So we're probably getting takeout. Let's be honest.
[00:52:47] Jayla Rae Ardelean: enjoy it.
[00:52:48] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yeah. Let's see. Find me online. You can find me as the cohost of holding down the Fort podcast, holding down the Fort podcast.com and on all social.
[00:52:59] Jenny Lynne Stroup: [00:53:00] Yeah, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at holding down the Fort podcast or personally, you can find me, um, on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn with just my name. Jenny J E N N Y. Space capital L Y N N E. Stroop. So Jenny Lynn Stroop, just like Jayla Rae. I have two first names. So it's the whole thing you
[00:53:21] Jayla Rae Ardelean: We've bonded over this also.
[00:53:23] Jenny Lynne Stroup: I know, I know when you introduce yourself, I was like, oh, I have two names.
[00:53:26] Jayla Rae Ardelean: I know. And when I found out that you don't just go by Jenny and it's Jenny Lynne, I felt the same way. I was like, Ugh, someone else in the universe. Thank you.
[00:53:35] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Yes. So holding down the Fort or Jenny Lynn strop. Both are on all socials everywhere.
[00:53:42] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Well, thank you, Jenny Lynne so much for popping on the podcast and I'll see around on the internet. And anyone, if you have questions for her about anything that we talked about today, I'm sure she's open to discussing those with you. I just offered your time. Are you [00:54:00] okay with that?
[00:54:01] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Absolutely. 100%. I love this community.
[00:54:06] Jayla Rae Ardelean: All right. Y'all bye.
[00:54:08] Jenny Lynne Stroup: All right, bye.
[00:54:09] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Um, you know, but that it's made me, um, What like, what's the, what am I looking for?
[00:54:19] Jenny Lynne Stroup: Um, do you edit, are you edit? Do you edit this or is all of this on,
[00:54:29] Jenny Lynne Stroup: sorry.
[00:54:30] Jayla Rae Ardelean: Um, it's I was gonna, I was probably gonna like mash some stuff together anyway,
[00:54:34] Jenny Lynne Stroup: so you can leave that if you want. It's totally fine. This is actually how I talk and how I think. And I start saying things and I lose my train of thought. And then I you're. So you're so articulate though, cuz you're taking, you're taking a question to a deeper level, which is exactly what I would hope for on this podcast, cuz.
[00:54:51] Jayla Rae Ardelean: I think you understand what it is that I'm like actually asking, and maybe I'm not using the right words, but then you're like you're filling in all the blanks. So
[00:54:59] Jenny Lynne Stroup: [00:55:00] it's cuz I'm old.
[00:55:11] Jenny Lynne Stroup: you're welcome. You're welcome for that bit of mentorship advice. Find the old people in the room and talk to them. No.