Killed in the line of Duty

A friend of mine and I were talking earlier about how horrible it must have been to wake the first day without your best friend by your side. We never understand why things happen to good people, but there's always a reason. Officer Brent Long was killed in the line of duty on Monday July 10th.  Our community has come together just about how we all did when Dale Griffin was killed in Iraq. It's so heart-warming to know that so many people feel such a sadness for those hero's that are close to home.

I have sat the past two days in shock.  Brent grew up in my neighborhood with the rest of us Prairie Parkers...we all ran the neighborhood together! I wasn't as close to Brent in our adult years, but it didn't make the pain any less. I feel such a deep dark sadness inside that I can't shake. It's to the core. I think of his wife, how she will have to raise two babies on her own now and explain how much of a hero their daddy was. Two babies left at home never to watch daddy walk through the front door again. It breaks my heart in two. He had a police & fire family too. If it's anything like my softball family, they are the ones you count on, sometimes more than your real family. I can't imagine my life without Shawn. For him to never walk through the door again, wow, what a horrible thought. I can't imagine what Danielle is feeling right now, or isn't feeling.

The channel 10 news has done a wonderful job covering the story and all of the details, however, I can't stand to even watch it anymore. It's redundant and just makes me want to sit and cry. It's apparent that Shaun Seeley knew that he wasn't going to be coming out of the situation in a good way, so he decided to take the life of someone else. HOW? How do you shoot someone? Maybe he knew that if he fired, the cop would fire and his goal was to be killed. So many different thoughts on the whole thing, I'll leave that to others I guess because, my head can't hold anymore random thinking.

At this point, all I know is that I am very sad deep down inside and pray for this family. As a mother, I can't imagine what Cheyrl is feeling losing her son. I pray for that entire family.  As well as Shadow, his faithful canine partner, who will morn his best friend once he recovers. 

If you're reading this, please say a prayer for the family. Harder days are yet to come. RIP Brent! You will be missed by many.