(Written after Hurricane Ian finally left the area.) As I sit here in my house without power, I find the darkness and silence peaceful yet uncomfortable. There is no hum of the air conditioner or glow of a light to distract me from myself and my thoughts. I am grateful I am safe, and my home was not damaged. I know God will see me through, even if I lose faith at times. I am unable to sleep and I begin to look back at the past couple of weeks. My intention was to share my experiences while in DC with the DC Project but I felt I needed to share what was on my heart right now. My next blog will ..read more

DC Project – Women for Gun Rights The inaugural NRA Florida State Conference took place this past weekend. It is uplifting and inspiring whenever I am around like-minded people that believe in the Constitution and support the Second Amendment. I was honored to have been asked to speak at this event. I shared my story of surviving domestic violence, and how exercising my Second Amendment right gave me the ability to stop letting fear hold me hostage in my home. Knowing how that first firearms class affected my life, it was only natural that I became a 2A advocate and joined DC Project. DC Pro ..read more

#tealfor2a Tuesday A mother was carjacked in broad daylight—surrounded by witnesses and cameras—after pulling in to her 8-year-old daughter’s school. As she waited for her, the woman was suddenly confronted by two young thugs pointing guns at her. She was able to quickly exit the car, but had the foresight to take her purse, which contained her concealed-carry pistol. The getaway driver, seemingly as inexperienced at driving as the pair was at carjacking, revved the engine a few times in an attempt to drive away, but remained stuck in neutral. Agitated by their mistake, they began firing their ..read more

I find there is nothing more refreshing and inspiring than spending time with like-minded people who are passionate about the same thing you are; March 20th I was a part of the Florida Carry Speaker Event. My friend June and I setup a table for DC Project. We sold T-shirts, hoodies, and shared the DC Project mission. This event is the best kept secret that needs to get more recognition. Florida Carry organized it in Summerfield and brought in some highly recognized 2nd Amendment advocates in the country! They came from California, Arizona, Ohio, Massachusetts and South Dakota, to name a few. T ..read more

Shirley Watral was a successful IT manager with a new relationship which seemed to be everything she hoped for until signs began to point negative. As she tried to ease her way out, his grasp became stronger, a warning sign she did not recognize at the time but which would devolve into being held hostage and worse. Her life plunged into the terror of domestic abuse. Though she took steps to save herself, her life spiraled down as he set out to make her stay or punish her, through criminal and cunning methods as he enlisted other unwitting people to get information on her movements. This is the ..read more

These are my thoughts, based on my experiences, on having a sense of security and feeling safe. I have been in a situation when my life was threatened and I was living in constant fear. I share these traumatic events in my book Heels to Holster. What I have seen and found is that my idea of security has changed as I have changed. When I was living in fear every day I wanted something or someone to save me and give me a sense of security. I was looking outside of myself for people and things to provide this. During that time I believed the restraining order I had in place and gated community I ..read more

Scenario training provides you with a situation you need to resolve or react to so you can defend yourself. I have done a few small scale scenario training sessions in the past but nothing like what I was about to experience at W.O.F.T. I would describe it as applying book smarts to the actual world. I would be using what I have learned from my many hours of firearms training and putting it to work when adrenaline is flooding my senses. Being able to hit a stationary target without the rush of hormones through your body is easy compared to doing it when you are under stress. After spending a w ..read more

Tunnel vision is being so focused on one item that nothing else seems to exist. Everything beyond fades out into darkness, and the only thing occupying your mind is what is visibly in front of you. I have experienced this while writing my book Heels to Holster. I have been so focused on getting it published that I have neglected to add to the blogs on my website (ShirleyWatral.com). It is easy to fall into tunnel vision when one item gets all our attention or one life event seems to consume us, like coronavirus. The news media is consumed with COVID -19. They are experiencing tunnel vision and ..read more

I have been neglecting my blog time lately. My focus has been writing my ‘Heels to Holster’ story in an effort to help other women that may have gone through some physical or mental abuse or may be going through it now. It has been about a month since I went to Pennsylvania to bury my sister. That was a tough time for me. The trip to the cemetery was a bit of a punch in the gut for me. I am not sure how else to describe it. When I physically saw the names of my immediate family on headstones in the same cemetery I felt very alone. That feeling soon left when I received a huge hug from my nephe ..read more

Have you ever had plans to do something that you were totally looking forward to and then had them change abruptly? Depending on your mind set that can be a blessing in disguise or a total disappointment. Which one it is becomes your choice. Well, we had that experience when we had plans to go to a concert and do a backstage tour of the Ryman Auditorium. We could see the Ryman from our hotel window and were looking forward to the concert and tour. We decided to wear our fancy new boots since it was a short walk and they were in that break in stage. We arrived about 15 minutes before the schedu ..read more