Milspouse Matters Episode 85 with Jen Pasquale
Let’s talk about support for seasoned military spouses!
This episode is sponsored by USA Girl Scouts Overseas.
For families on the move, Girl Scouts is a constant, allowing girls to pick up right where she left off: benefiting from the single best leadership development experience for girls in the world. Their virtual troop is a great way for girls to learn new skills, meet girls from all over the world, and have fun no matter where they are or where they move. Learn more at USA Girl Scouts Overseas!
JEN’S “FAVORITE THINGS” THIS WEEK:
- Military Spouse Advocacy Network– support, resources, and mentoring for military spouses. **Sign up for their FREE Leadership Development Program through June 10, 2022.
- The Military Homeschool Podcast– brand new podcast from Crystal Niehoff, the former owner and CEO of Army Wife Network and host of Army Wife Talk Radio. I’ll be on an upcoming episode, talking about our decades of homeschooling as a military family.
On this episode, I’m talking to Jen Pasquale from Pride & Grit, a great resource for seasoned military spouses!
Jen is a 15-year active-duty Army spouse, mom of two, and champion for seasoned military spouses. In 2018, Jen founded Pride & Grit as a support community, resource hub, and as of 2021, host of an annual personal development retreat for seasoned military spouses. As a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, Jen also offers identity coaching using the CliftonStrengths assessment. As a coach, Jen helps spouses develop pride in their unique talents while cultivating the grit to use those talents and lean into an identity beyond service.
It was so great talking to Jen! I’ve admired what she’s doing and wanted to have her on the show for a long time, so I’m so glad we finally connected.
We talk about her work and support for seasoned military spouses, including their struggles, how often we keep our problems to ourselves so we appear strong, what others misunderstand about “senior spouses,” and ways you can begin to prepare for the end of your servicemember’s career and take care of yourself.
Jen talks about Pride & Grit and how it came about. She says,
“A lot of us have been around a long time, and we’ve weathered a lot of hard things in military life. A lot of us were tired. It’s not that we didn’t love being a service family, but we were tired. And I noticed that people didn’t have a space to be tired that was supportive for them.”
Jen shared so much good stuff! If you’re feeling tired or weary of military life, this is the episode for you. Be sure to also check out the yearly Evolve Retreat for seasoned military spouses. If you can relate to the below, then you’ll want to connect with Pride & Grit!
I call it the compounding impact of service: it’s not the second move. The second move is still fun. It’s maybe the twelfth move or the ninth move or it’s the fourth time you had to give up the job you love because you’re following your service member. Sometimes it takes a while for these things to show up. It’s like flipping a switch for a lot of folks. For me, it was like that. I was fine until I wasn’t. I was good with all the changes, and fine with being what one friend calls ‘the trailing spouse.’ I was comfortable with that role…until I wasn’t.
Connect with Pride & Grit and learn more about the Evolve Retreat.
Find Pride & Grit on social media:
More resources for your military life:
- Connect with Milspouse Matters on Instagram
- Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
- Find the complete Milspouse Matters show archive and listen to every episode
Get Jen’s book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse.
Have a topic idea for the Milspouse Matters podcast or know someone who’d be a great guest? Send me a note or fill out our guest application.
