Today, we played our last band event for 2019 — the North Carolina National Guard Change of Command Ceremony. As we thought about our “last” band event for the year, we remembered coming across a story which really touched us. This story is an amazing reminder for all of us to express our love to our families and friends. Life is full of uncertainty and we should never let a day pass without having those in our lives know how much we love them.
The story goes that in July of 2007 there was an airplane accident in Brazil in which 199 people were killed. A note was said to have been posted on a communications board afterward by the husband of a flight attendant who died in the accident. The posting was titled “Tomorrow Never Comes” and it was based on a poem written by Norma Cornett Marek.
If I knew this would be the last time I would watch you sleep, I would hug you tighter. I would plead with the Lord to protect you. If I knew this would be the last time I saw you walk out the door, I would hug and kiss you and call you back to hug and kiss you one more time.
If I knew this would be the last time I would hear your voice in prayer, I would record every gesture, every look, every smile, every one of your words, So that I could listen to it later, day after day. If I knew this would be the last time, I would spend an extra minute or two to tell you, “I love you,” instead of assuming you already knew it.
If I knew this would be our last time, our last moment,
I would be by your side, spending the day with you instead of thinking,
“Well, I’m sure other opportunities will come, so I can let this day go by.”
Of course there will be a day to revise things,
And we would have a second chance to do things right.
Oh, of course there will be another day for us to say, “I love you.”
And certainly there will be another chance to tell each other, “Can I help with anything?”
But in my case, there isn’t one!
I don’t have you here with me, and today is the last day we have—our farewell.
Therefore I would like to say how much I love you,
And I hope you never forget it.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old.
Today might be your last chance to hold tight to the hand of the one you love
and show all you feel.
If you are waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
Because if tomorrow never comes, you certainly will regret for the rest of your life
Not having spent some extra time for a smile, a conversation, a hug, a kiss,
Because you were too busy to give that person what ended up being their last wish.
Then hug tight today the one you love, your friends, your family,
and whisper in their ears how much you love them and want them close to you.
Use your time to say,
“I’m sorry,”
“Please,”
“Forgive me,”
“Thank you,”
Or even, “That was nothing,” “It’s all right,”
Because if tomorrow never comes, you will not have to regret today.
The past doesn’t come back, and the future might not come!
We want all of those in our pipe band life to know how much we love and appreciate them. Even many of you who we have never met before personally have found ways to touch our members through your kind comments (likes and loves), emails, and letters.
Thank you to our members, families, friends and fans — for being a part of our pipe band life.
