Theresa Survived Teen Dating Violence. Here's What No One Warned Her About.

One night. One moment. A lifetime of impact.

In this episode, Theresa shares how a violent experience as a teenager changed the course of her life in ways she never expected. What happened in a single night didn’t just stay in the past, it shaped how she saw herself, her safety, her voice, and her future.

But this is more than just a story about trauma.

It’s about what comes next.

It’s about carrying something heavy over the years... and what it feels like to slowly start unpacking it.

Through honesty and courage, Theresa shares the lasting effects of violence, the quiet ways it follows you, and the strength needed to face it.

If you’ve ever wondered how one moment can shape a lifetime or how healing begins after something you didn’t choose, this conversation will meet you there.

Basic teen dating violence tips:

•  Pay attention to sudden isolation from friends or family. 
•  Notice if a teen seems afraid to upset their partner. 
•  Be aware of constant texting, checking in, or needing to know where they are. 
•  Watch for controlling behavior around clothes, friends, or daily choices. 
•  Take emotional changes seriously, especially shame, fear, or withdrawing. 
•  Create a calm space to talk without judgment or pressure. 
•  Remind teens that control is not love. 
•  Let them know they can tell you the truth without being blamed.

National Domestic Violence Hotline (U.S.)
Call or text 800-799-7233 (SAFE)
Chat at thehotline.org
Available 24/7, confidential, and free.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Learn more: www.thehealinginsharing.com

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Follow: 

Instagram: @TheHealingInSharing

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Email: TheHealingInSharing@gmail.com

Subscribe: Apple podcast, Spotify, etc

Book: Why I Survived; Where Survival Becomes Strength: https://a.co/d/0dKLym3O 

The background music is written, performed and produced exclusively by Melissa Turri.
https://melissaturrimusic.com/

Transcript

Teresa Returns And Sets The Stage

SPEAKER_01 0:00

What happens when everything in your life is going right until one moment changes the direction of everything? Today we welcome back Teresa, a returning guest whose voice many of you will remember. In a previous episode, she bravely shared her story of surviving a sexual assault. This time, Teresa opens up about an experience from her high school years when she was a strong student, dreaming about college and standing on solid ground until her junior year took an unexpected turn. Like so many teenagers, Teresa made a few choices that felt harmless at the time. New friends, skipped classes, testing boundaries. But when her parents were notified, a startling truth came to light, and her life shifted in ways she never saw coming. With parents working as government investigators and leaving town for a weekend, Teresa was placed under strict supervision, required to check in nightly with neighbors, including a police officer next door. One night she wasn't sure she was gonna make that check-in in time. What follows is a story Teresa has carried quietly for decades, shared with only a few. In this episode, she honors the art teacher and the police officers who stepped in to help her survive something no child or teenager should ever endure. You'll hear the pauses in her voice, the weight of memory, and the undeniable strength that still lives in her today. We talk about how trauma ripples through future relationships, what it means to be victimized more than once, and the long road toward reclaiming your voice. This is a powerful conversation about courage, truth, and the kind of resilience that doesn't fade with time. Teresa, thank you for being my friend. Thank you for being my guest today.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Thank you very much. I'm honored.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

Oh, you're so welcome in Happy New Year.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Yes, happy new year. Another one behind us. This will be better than the last one.

Teenage Choices And An Abusive Boyfriend

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Um, again, I'm glad that you're joining me to start off this new year. We've kind of already had a conversation about this. As always, it's to your comfort level. Can you take us back to that time in junior high and in high school? What do you remember most about your life then, your friendship, school, and family?

SPEAKER_00 2:44

I was raised in a very strict family. My dad and mom kept a very good eye on my sister and I. I was an A student. I was doing well, and I was in high school. I was tutoring other kids, believe it or not, in math. I was very good at it after I caught on. And art, I was tutoring some students outside of school in art. I had the best art teacher ever who was very supportive. When I got into my junior year, I started hanging around with a girl that kind of latched onto me and you know, oh, you can get away with this. Oh, you can get away with that type of thing. And um, I started acting out quite a bit and pretty much got caught every time. It's, you know, pushing the boundaries, right? I was pushing the boundaries, you know, and one day she introduced me to this young man. I was, I believe, 16 at the time. I'll call I'll call him Evan. And he seemed to be very nice, very gentlemanly, opened the door, you know, all of this type of thing. And we dated for about a year, and that was back even before he had a driver's license. So his mother would drive us to the movies or to dinner and then come pick us up, type of thing. And it seemed all to be going well. Once he got his license, you know, he wanted to pick me up and we would go out alone. And by then I was I was 17. We were the same age. And um, one thing I had known about Evan was that he took karate classes. He'd been taking them all his life, and he became a black belt at the age of 17. So he was pretty tough in his own way. You know, he didn't look at, he didn't present that way, but if he were pushed, you could see his eyes change, you could see his defense mechanisms come up or offensive mechanisms come up, and he would get very uh angry. So our relationship got pretty bad because his buttons were pushed very easily after a while, and I found that he was very possessive and he became very intimidating. He would grab the back of my neck and squeeze it if he thought that I was out of line. He would guide me down the hallways that way to class. So it looked like he had his arm around me, but he didn't. He was like pinching my neck. Like, go this way, go that way, type of thing. Avoid this person, avoid that person. So all my older friends that were geeks like me, I saw very little of them during breaks, during class, you know, between classes, that kind of thing. My locker, he was there. And, you know, it's almost like I was being followed type of thing.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

Yeah. You know, many times, whether it be the dating abuse, domestic violence, there is that quote, honeymoon period where they like woo you, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Yes. Um, did you experience that? And for how long before all of a sudden you realized his behavior was actually quite dangerous?

SPEAKER_00 6:26

It was several months, believe it or not. Um, but once he got his own license to drive, everything changed. Of course, his parents didn't see it. My parents didn't see it immediately, but my the hair on the back of my dad's neck went up.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

When he met him?

The Beach Skip And Parental Fallout

SPEAKER_00 6:45

When he would see him after he got his license. Yes, when he came to the door, my dad thought he had started to become a little bit too pushy, a little bit too expecting me to be at the door at a particular time and dress a certain way, or you know, that kind of thing. And my dad didn't like it. And he got to the first he liked Devin, but then he's like, I'm starting to change my mind. And I'm stuck I definitely don't want, don't like this girl you're hanging out with, and I definitely don't like that guy. They're hindering your schoolwork, changing your behavior. Had a couple talks about my rebellion. During that rebellion, my female friend, my girlfriend, and I skipped school. Well, we went to the beach for the day. We hitchhiked back when we thought it was safe. But at one point, and and we met our boys' respective boyfriends there. I met Evan and she met her boyfriend who was out of high school already. He was 19 and she was 17. So we stayed at the beach. We had a grand old time, and uh we went our separate ways towards the end of the day when it was time to clock out of school, and we had to get back to school. So we hitchhiked back to school. I'll never forget this because we were seated in the back seat of a big black car with no door handles in the back seats. No door handles, so we couldn't get out if we wanted to. There were two guys in the front, and they had control of the doors in the back. But they did bring us back to school. We got out of the car. We we were literally holding each other's hands, my friend and I, petrified. And when we got out of the car, we just ran like hell back to the school bus pickup. So we would look like we went to school. And were you caught? Oh, yes. I was nailed in a heartbeat early. My mother knew, my dad knew, my dad knew. They called my dad from the dean's office because I had three exams that day, and two of my favorite classes I didn't show up for: biology and my American history. The dean contacted both my parents, and at that point, my father was already at work in Miami. My mom was home, so they knew early on. We started classes at 7:30. I would say by eight o'clock, both parents knew. And we were gone all day, so they were petrified and worried as to where I was. Well, my dad contacted my boyfriend's mother, and she said, Well, he's done this once before. He went to the beach, so they had people looking for us on the beach, didn't find us, but that wasn't their full-time job. They were supposed to be looking for other people. Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Because they were government investigators.

House Rules And The Night Of Assault

SPEAKER_00 10:05

Exactly. And they're not supposed to be looking for some investigator's kid on the beach. Anyway, make a long story short, I got home, I got grounded for three months, which meant the prom, which meant all the activities, all my art club activities, all of my church activities, everything for three months grounded. And my friend, well, she got off with a slap of the wrist because her parents were very lenient. So um that's at that's the point where my parents and I sat down and had a very long come to Jesus talk that I could be in deep, deep trouble, you know, and they wouldn't know, except for the fact that at that point they had just begun checking on my sister and I because of the cases that my dad was working on. My parents were like, okay, no longer, no hanging out with this one. You're forbidden to see the boyfriend again. And I had tried to break up with him a couple of times because of his behavior, but he was so intimidating. And at one point, he pushed me by the front of the neck against the wall outside the school and said, No, you're not. I will kill myself if you leave me, type of thing. At this point, I was grateful to my parents that they gave me a way out, you know, that he wasn't gonna threaten me anymore, and that I could pursue what I really wanted to do, and that was work on my artwork and pray that I got into prestigious art school locals with a scholarship.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Okay. So after a few months, once your punishment time was over, they decided to go away for the weekend, but they did set some safety parameters.

Reporting, Silence, And Limited Help

Rebuilding Through Art And School

SPEAKER_00 12:12

Yes, I had dinner with our next door neighbors, they were close friends. Father was an auxiliary police officer. Uh, we had known them for years. I had babysat their children and that type of thing. So the parameters were I had to eat dinner with them. I was allowed to go back to our house next door and work on my portfolio and paint. And then I had to be back at the neighbors by eight o'clock in the house. My house all locked up, secure, back at the neighbors. And I slept there and got ready for school there, everything. I didn't go back to the house except after school to do my homework, then I'd eat with them, then I'd go back to the house to work on my folio again. So that was pretty consistent. It was just for a few days, and um one evening I was it was after dinner, I was painting, and there was a knock on the door, and I looked through the peephole, and it was my ex Evan. So I figured, okay, well, maybe maybe we'll talk. Well, I unlatched the door, he yanked the door open, and there were three guys with him behind him, and they bum rushed me and forced their way in the house and bolted the door, closed the blinds, the whole deal. But I I only recognized one of them as my old friend's boyfriend. The other two I didn't know. So I was pretty petrified because here I am like 98 pounds, and they're screaming at me, you know. First they dragged me into the kitchen where I was painting, because that's where I always painted, because uh water was available and I used water-based paint, and they just taunted me and told me they were going to get revenge for my breakup with Evan and um yanked me to the floor by my hair and literally tore my pants off and started punching my abdomen. I was pinned by three of them while my ex told him what to do, and um he took control of my shoulders, pinned my shoulders down on the floor while the other three just took turns holding my legs and um sexually assaulting me, raping me and and and sodomizing. And they kept screaming at me, you think you're better than him, you think you're better than Evan, you think you're better than him, and they kept punching me in the midsection because they knew that's where you know nobody would see bruises. At least well, I did. And then they la they laughed, they just thought it was funny, and and it went just well, I don't know how long it went on. It's just seemed like forever, but um then my old girlfriend, boyfriend went in and dragged out my um portfolio and uh started tearing up all the pieces that I had finished to submit for a a chance at a scholarship into little tiny pieces. And when they didn't tear, I grabbed a pair of kitchen scissors, just dug through the drawers, found my mom's kitchen scissors, just chopped everything up, tore it up, left it on the floor in a big pile, and laughed like crazy. He's like, maybe this will teach you a lesson type of thing. And um then they went into my room where I I had all my art supplies and threw my supplies everywhere. Some of the jars broke open that had paint and tubes of paint, so they split open and it was nasty. And I I I I was trying to scream, I was trying to I kept saying I had a curfew, la la la. I knew that, you know, my neighbor, if I hadn't shown up at, if I didn't show up, he would show up with and he would show up armed because he was a police officer, he was also a gun collector, and uh we'd already had this conversation before my parents went away. They went out in the garage door, the house was a mess, and so was I. I don't know, I just kind of sat there, I guess, mortified, laid there on the floor, cried, picking up pieces of my artwork, and I could just see my whole life just going to shit, and then I saw nothing. That was my hope. Shockingly, I stood up, I was bleeding, I didn't realize it, but I had a cracked rib. I didn't know that until like the next day. Um I threw my clothes in the garbage because they'd smeared paint all over my shirt and my belly, and I went in and I put on some clean clothes and wiped up the best I could. I I put on some pads because I was bleeding pretty heavily. So I think I used like two or three pads in my underwear. I I just cleaned up the best I could and um left the house a big mess. I tried my best, but I just looked at it and I said, I just can't do this now. And I and I went next door and there was my neighbor standing at the doorway as I unlocked their front door. He was standing in the doorway, ready to go out on patrol, fully dressed. And his first question to me was why do you have paint on your face? And why did you change clothes? And I'm I told him I spilled my palate all over the front of me, which in essence was the truth. You know, as my neighbor and I crossed paths, his wife was in the um family room watching TV, and I said, I'm gonna hop in the shower. I got in the shower, I scrubbed every inch that I possibly could. I even took some bleach out from underneath the um sink, tried to scrub myself clean. I don't know, I don't remember what I did with the pads, but I know I got rid of them so that my neighbor wouldn't find them. The next morning, which happened to be a Saturday, it was early, so I went to the police station. I had my uh my sister and I had shared a little putt-putt car. That's what I called it. A little stick shift. And uh this was back when there weren't very many women female police officers. Women got stuck at dispatch, you know. But I got I I swear God was on my should carried me. There's absolutely no question. I do not remember driving to the police station, I do not remember what I wore, I do not remember pathway, what roads I took. I I don't remember. All I know is that I got there. And it was very strange because as I was walking in, my neighbor, who I had seen the night before going into their house, was coming off night duty. And I saw him there as I walked in to talk to a police officer, so he knew something had happened. I got very fortunate to have a female officer talk to me. The big problem was that I gotten rid of my clothes, and now they were so contaminated and the garbage mixed with food and everything else that they couldn't really do anything, and they didn't have any DNA or anything like that back then. And I had gotten a shower, washed my hair, scrubbed every square into my body, including my eyeballs, trying to get those visions out, you know. But she she was extremely kind. Unfortunately, not a lot could be done because it was my word against theirs, and I didn't even know who the the two other guys were. So it was my word against theirs. After I was there, maybe. Be an hour. And the police officer actually directed me to the county to see if there was anything they could do to help me. They only had short-term type therapy. They tried to do a rape kit, which was totally useless, totally useless. I just didn't want anybody to know.

SPEAKER_01 22:23

Did the police officer next door ever find out?

SPEAKER_00 22:27

He'd never really found out the whole story, but I did confide in him that something had happened, and I asked him to please. He said, you know, and he's told me, you're asking me a huge favor. But I asked him not to tell my parents because they would be worried. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

Have they ever found out?

Lasting Health Effects And Seeking Therapy

SPEAKER_00 22:52

As far as I know, praise the Lord, they never did. I told them that I'd had a temper tangent with my portfolio. I had a little meltdown. I was seeing the cot the high school counselor about. I started all over. My art teacher helped me. You know, it was last minute. I only had like six weeks left before submission, but I did nothing but paint and uh study. I just buried myself.

SPEAKER_01 23:22

And your art teacher ended up being a great resource and support system for you.

SPEAKER_00 23:28

Absolutely. She was wonderful. She was absolutely wonderful. She uh she actually helped me get a scholarship into junior college, full ride. And um, because I had good grades, other than my one semester in my junior year where I just decided to rebel, I brought my grades back up, and she worked with me for over a year after all of this. And between my parents and her, I uh I got accepted. I I did not get accepted into the art school, but I truly didn't expect to at that point. I did get accepted into the college into a couple of colleges and praise God for the rotary system because they paid the rotary in the city, paid for my scholarship.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

That's awesome. Now, how did your creative expression like the art how how did it help you process your emotions or regain a sense of control, if you will? And did your painting style shift?

SPEAKER_00 24:40

Yes, dramatically. Yeah, I got bolder. My painting style was very timid and very light, very uh happy, if you will, very um content. My my style, the the medium, I used watercolor. I moved into acrylic. I used very heavy paint. I went to darker colors for those days when I felt like I needed to really unload. I went to uh using a palette knife instead of a brush, which was totally new to me. It was almost purely art therapy for me, because that's not the way I paint now.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

You're right. I mean, art became your therapy, your release of emotions at that time versus your talent, if you will.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

It did, it absolutely did, and um I only had four weeks with a therapist from the county, and uh, she was very helpful. She would take her lunch break and come see me on my lunch breaks so that I didn't lose time after school, I didn't lose time before school, and I could keep my schedule so that everything was quiet. God moved people in so many different ways to help me, and for some reason, God let me keep it quiet, you know, even though I wanted to report it and to, you know, and go the the right route, it just didn't work out that way.

SPEAKER_01 26:32

And do you think that was the best option for you to not share it looking back?

Faith, Strength, And Forgiveness

SPEAKER_00 26:39

I do, I do, I really do. It's been over 50 years, and I haven't really told anybody else about this since those people that were involved immediately in that at that point in time. And I think it was the best because I think it would have killed my parents. And my my little my girlfriend, my geeky girlfriend that I had abandoned for the rough ride through that few months, you know, came to help me. She did not ask me questions, she just came and helped me clean the day after this.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

You know, many times they say unprocessed um emotions, emotions that still live within us tend to manifest itself into physical illnesses. Did you experience anything like that?

SPEAKER_00 27:42

I did. I was sick to my stomach. It was almost constant. You know, my stomach was in knots. I still had to go to school with this guy. I still had to see him in classes. They couldn't rearrange my classes. So uh not all my classes, because frankly, I was smarter than him, and he didn't he didn't make the grades to go to some of my classes. And he wasn't in my art class. I've had migraines ever since. I would come home after school and bury myself behind the sofa where it was dark and try and get rid of the headache. I would go to bed at night and the headache would go away. I'd wake up in the morning, and by the end of the day, by say the middle of the school day, my head was just like throbbing again. I couldn't see. I was, you know, I had the aura. I I couldn't focus on my books, I couldn't focus visually. And they would last for maybe a week until I just finally vomited. And that would give me, I do not know how, but that was the release for the headache, and it would go away for a while. And I've spoken to other people to get migraines also, and and they experience the same thing that once they vomit, it stops. I don't get the connection.

SPEAKER_01 29:14

I don't either. Is this a pattern that still continues today, over 50 years later? Yes.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

Yes, it does.

SPEAKER_01 29:25

And do you think by sharing your story?

SPEAKER_00 29:29

I'm praying it, they will go away.

SPEAKER_01 29:32

I'm praying for you too.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

They are so debilitating.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

Are you at a point where you would be willing to get help from a professional and share? I actually uh yep.

SPEAKER_00 29:46

And uh I um she was a woman that um I worked with for a while for uh on something else, another issue. Years years ago, I contacted her uh actually last week to see if I could get a sketch get scheduled as an appointment. She's a Christian, she's about two hours south of me, but she does remote sessions.

SPEAKER_01 30:15

I am so proud of you.

SPEAKER_00 30:17

Well, it's it took I I just kept putting it off because um time.

Safety Practices And Parting Encouragement

SPEAKER_01 30:25

Right. Are you open to other forms of healing as well outside of talk therapy? Oh, yeah. Oh, sure. Okay, I'd like to be hypnotized or something like that. I know someone actually that I would like to connect you with. We'll talk about that um afterwards. How do you define strength today? And I have to imagine that definition has changed over time because of what you endured, and and not to go into it again, but this is not the only sexual assault that you have endured, and so now looking back, how do you define Teresa's strength?

SPEAKER_00 31:08

Well, back then I was totally humiliated, and even though I went to um a teen church group every week, it's not something I could share there. It was run by a couple, it was male and female, you know, it wasn't something I was ready to just spill, you know. But I did have a connection with my God, the God, I say now. And I think that and the connection that I had with my art teacher and my parents, my parents helped me stay very grounded in the Lord. They were very grounded in the Lord, even though they never knew anything about this, the bad behavior, you know, my dad could see something like this coming, and I would not doubt because he was so intuitive, I would not doubt that he suspected. And he and my mom never kept us kept secrets ever. Now, you know, I took a vacation from God. I'll be the first to say back in the early 90s. I would, I would say maybe, but I fame I found my way back, you know, in little things. And I started with I start today, I still find it my strongest connection through little things and good relationships, healthy relationships. I can identify it. It only took me, you know, how many decades to figure that out.

SPEAKER_01 32:55

It's okay. We all have our journey, and I almost think that part of believing in God and then not trusting God is almost part of the process. It's this journey we call life, right?

SPEAKER_00 33:08

Right. Absolutely. And again, you know, it was being persuaded to go a different direction. And even though it wasn't an evil direction or uh an illegal direction or a violent direction, it was just the wrong direction for me. You know, at that time, that's what I thought I needed.

SPEAKER_01 33:29

You know, if you could stand uh in front of your younger self, what would you say? How would you console her?

SPEAKER_00 33:39

I would pray. I would definitely pray. My dearest friend calls me a prayer warrior because I constantly pray. I pray when I paint, I pray when I watch the news, I pray when I work. I just pop out and pray. And I think having a relationship with God is like no other because once you accept that relationship, I feel like we are led by the Holy Spirit. I don't want to get too churchy on you or anything like that, but that's just me. But I can't see how anyone can actually look at plants and our surroundings and nature, nature in general, and not wonder where it came from, besides evolution. We all know where you know, where did that start? It had to start somewhere, but that's the way I think.

SPEAKER_01 34:52

And that is okay, of course.

SPEAKER_00 34:54

And I would also tell my younger self, I would console her by saying, This is only part of the journey, it's not the end. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 35:07

I would love to end with this question, um, giving giving some wisdom and advice. What do you hope others, especially young people, take away from your story about courage, self-worth, or seeking help, even you know, moms that might be listening that have teenage daughters.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

I fall very much on the side of common sense. Be vigilant, be vigilant of your surroundings, don't walk places where you have any hesitation of safety. That's number one. Your safety comes first. Learn how to take care of yourself, and that helps develop courage. Know in your own heart that you surround yourself with people who are honest, straightforward, and have your best interest and mind. And when you don't think you have the courage to do something, let's say a business venture, do it anyway. Just jump in. Make sure you have your ducks in a row, the best that you possibly can, but do it, make a plan. If you can't do it right away, make a plan. Don't be afraid. God's on your side. And when you surround yourself with people who have your best interest and heart at heart, then you'll get good guidance. Just always stand back and look and say, Am I got am I making this decision from the heart? Am I making this decision from common sense? And is there a way where I can blend the two?

SPEAKER_01 37:07

Yes, and that um I I end each podcast episode with, we are stronger than we think. You're a living testament to that.

SPEAKER_00 37:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 37:18

I made it through a lot in my life, yes, and you're still going strong.

SPEAKER_00 37:25

I'm still a pain in the butt.

SPEAKER_01 37:29

I know, but I love you, and I know out in the community, just how many people love you.

SPEAKER_00 37:35

So oh, that's so sweet to know. I don't really pay attention to that, you know. It's like I don't really pay attention to what other people think, but I try and behave in a way that is encouraging and I'll share whatever wisdom that I have, you know, that kind of thing. Because I do have a few years behind me, and I don't want to see young women make the same mistakes I did. For heaven's sake, be smart. If you got a dad like I had, listen to him. Especially if they're still alive, appreciate them, you know, learn.

SPEAKER_01 38:18

Sometimes when I hear people say, don't make the mistakes that I did, you know, there are several situations like yours where you did nothing wrong. You don't, you don't have to own that. You know what I'm saying? Can I ask? Uh, actually, what does forgiveness look like for you?

SPEAKER_00 38:37

Forgiveness, I have forgiven them. I did a long time ago. Forgiveness is letting go. Forgiveness is coming to the decision that you're gonna learn from it and that you're going to continue your life and be stronger. And also you're not going to let it drive your decisions. Fear. Fear is the opposite of faith. You know, let don't let it occupy your mind. I I had this so far jammed down back in my mind that I didn't realize sometimes it really did affect my decisions. To this day, I have some behaviors that I'll tell you, I'm not gonna change. But I think from that experience and from a few others that I've had, a couple others, there are certain things I do to make sure I'm safe. You can't, you but you cannot let it rule your life. You have to get it out, say goodbye, and give it to God.

SPEAKER_01 39:54

Can you share a couple of things you do now? Best practices to keep you safe?

SPEAKER_00 39:59

Absolutely. Always use a peephole. Get one of those wide ankle peep poles when you're home. Even if people know you're home, look through it and see who's there. That's one. I keep my head on a swivel. That's another thing I do. I pay attention to like silly things like whether or not somebody maybe locked their car or not, or what they're carrying in their hands, especially when I'm in a strange area. You know, pay attention, don't be, don't get distracted if you're in an unify in an unfamiliar area. And don't forget that you're not alone, really. You have that Holy Spirit, you know, if you trust. I have a lot of behaviors, like I I lock my doors when I'm home. I don't leave them open, all of them, you know. I'm not OCD about it, but I check them. I make sure that, and for me, this is strictly for me. I have a couple of weapons that are in very, very strategic places, and I make sure I know how to use them and not I'm not too afraid to use them because that was definite intrusion on my home.

SPEAKER_01 41:33

Well, those are all very powerful suggestions that I can't wait to share with the audience. Teresa, thank you so much for being my guest today.

SPEAKER_00 41:44

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 41:45

And I would like to thank you for listening today. And remember, you are stronger than you think. Until next time.