Stay Safe: Chapter Thirty-Four
What follows is a chapter from "Stay Safe: Life After Loss," a book that I wrote following the death of my brother, Robert James Reeves. Rob, only 14-months younger than me and 32 years old at the time of his death, was a Navy SEAL on the prestigious SEAL Team 6. On August 6, 2011, while on a mission in Afghanistan, he and too many of his teammates and other servicemen, lost their lives when their helicopter was shot down by enemy fire. It was the single largest loss of American life in the Afghan war. And because of the high profile nature of this event–being on the cusp of the Bin Laden mission and the number of those lost–my dad and I were part of many, many memorials and events, and the recipients of much outreach, and the point of contact for all those wanting to do something in Rob’s memory. This book chronicles the first month after his death. I am releasing a chapter a day starting August 5th as we mark the fourth anniversary of life without him.
I traveled back to home to Little Rock on Wednesday.Tired. I was so tired. And confused. And unsure about what was next. I was not sure how to focus on anything and I was clueless as to what I even wanted to focus on in my life.I had work to keep me busy for a bit. In fact, I drove back to Little Rock just in time for a new client kick-off meeting. No time to even get settled back home before diving right back into the work groove. At least that is the appearance that I wanted to give off: that I was right back into the work groove. But I was not. I know Rob would be able to pour all his focus into the work that he loved, if our positions were reversed. But I am not Rob. Never have been. I’ve always admired the way he knew what he wanted, set the goals and then set out to accomplish those goals. I didn’t know what I wanted next in life.
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