What we have here is change, and change is a major part of life. We must teach the children that dealing with change will be a part of their lives forever. What example are we setting if we allow the children to see that our sadness or disappointment becomes the driving force behind our important decisions in life – important decisions like where our children will be going to school? These important decisions must be driven by love and happiness. I pray that all of the unhappy parents from St. Mary of the Angels think long and hard about their motivations, ultimately deciding to give change a fair chance. Let us remember that special people like Mr. Accardi have helped prepare us to cope with change and let us not discount such valuable teachings by refusing to practice what we have been taught. Let us not try to understand why things are the way they are, particularly when we are not the ones making those decisions. Let us simply accept things for the way they are.
We owe it to the children to remain strong. We must weather the storm of life’s never ending change and we must teach the children how to effectively deal with change without abandoning those places and people most precious to us. This is a real life learning experience in the making. Let us put the lessons learned from Mr. Accardi into action and deal with this new change with love and understanding and remain whole. Let us not forget that St. Mary of the Angels School is our school, which offers extensive extracurricular activities and advanced learning programs, many of which are not offered at other institutions. Therefore, why would we consider depriving ourselves of so much good at such a time in our lives when we are saying goodbye to a loved one such as our Mr. Accardi. No matter where he goes, he will always be ‘our’ Mr. Accardi and we will always be his sisters and brothers-in-Christ.
Now let us graciously allow Mr. Accardi, whom we love so much, to go on to a new school and let us feel very good that he will be going on and continuing to touch so many more people in the same special and valuable way he did at St. Mary of the Angels School. It is time for others to learn all the very many treasured lessons that we will keep with us forever. Let us feel excited about sharing Mr. Accardi with all the others that now need him as we once needed him. By doing this, we will help teach the children how to cope with the many changes of life, and this is the Lord’s work.
