To commemorate their father's retirement, a group of siblings teamed up to plan a surprise that would remind them of some of their most cherished childhood memories.
Matt Houlihan, a native of San Jose, Calif., came up with the idea to celebrate his father's 41 years of service at St. Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif. He, his brother, and sister went to the same school.
He said the TikTok trend inspired Matt Houlihan to do something special for his father with a special Houlihan family twist.
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“I was scrolling through TikTok a week ago, and… [and] I watched a video of a group of grandchildren coming to a slumber party and surprising their grandparents. That started the wheels turning for me as my father's retirement approached. And I wanted to do something special for him,” Matt Houlihan told FOX News Digital.
Matthew Houlihan (right) teams up with his brothers Kelsey Houlihan (center) and Brian Houlihan (back right) to give their father, Tim Houlihan, a final carpool on his last day as a school teacher. (left) was surprised. (Matt Houlihan)
Matt Houlihan's idea required his two older brothers, Brian Houlihan and Kelsey Houlihan, to wake up early and come to their parents' house with Matt. The idea was to carpool at the end with their dad, like they did when they were kids.
The three brothers decided to go all out by reflecting on some of the “rituals” they had developed over the years driving to school with their father.
“For about eight years, my dad drove all of us to high school,” Matt Houlihan said.
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“And obviously, during that time, you developed some routines and rituals.”
Matt Houlihan looked back on the time he spent in cars with his brother and father and wanted to honor those memories. (Matt Houlihan)
After making plans for the surprise, including figuring out how their own children would get to school, the brothers ultimately teamed up with their mother, Stephanie Houlihan, to pull off the surprise.
The Houlihan children showed up at their parents' house at 6 a.m., backpacks in hand, to meet their father and prepare for a trip filled with memories.
They created a playlist containing the songs they used to listen to with their father when they carpooled to school when they were young. That number one song was Outkast's “Hey Ya,” which became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts. Early 2000s.
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“At one point, my dad had a CD that was just playing Outkast's 'Hey Ya' on repeat. It was literally 21 songs of Outkast's 'Hey Ya' on a CD. And I think we listened to it for hours.''That was all we listened to in the car for probably six months,'' Matt Houlihan said.
“He always wants to help those around him.”
Our next stop as a family was our favorite bagel shop, House of Bagels. Afterwards, I headed to school and parked in the same parking lot I used in high school.
When his three children were in school, Tim Houlihan would send them into class reciting quotes from the classic movie “The Princess Bride.”
“My father always sent us off saying, 'Have fun storming the castle,'” said Matt Houlihan, who said he and his brother repeated those words before their father left for his final assignment. he added.
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Tim Houlihan spent 41 years at St. Francis High School in a variety of positions, starting as a math teacher and bus driver and moving on to positions such as office coordinator and athletic director for the football team.
Tim Houlihan retired after 41 years at St. Francis High School, but found himself wearing all kinds of hats and serving in many different roles during his time at the school. (Matt Houlihan)
He served as Dean of Students and Gold Coach before finally settling into a construction management role for new projects on the school's campus.
“We actually walked through the last building he just completed, and just being able to see the last jewel in the campus that he coordinated and helped build was so great. It was cool,” Matt Houlihan said.
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“And obviously, then, [we] Everyone came and congratulated him and we got to see all of his relationships at work, just like when we were there. [students] There. “
The Houlihan brothers filmed a video of their father's last day of school and shared it on TikTok. (Matt Houlihan)
Matt Houlihan said he and his siblings love celebrating their father, whom he always considered a “servant leader.”
“He always wants to help everyone around him,” he said, adding that every year his father delivers plates of food to school security guards working night shifts on holidays to thank their co-workers. He added that he is doing so.
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He has always respected his parents' concern for others. And in the reactions of people at the school who said goodbye to their fathers on their last day, expressing their gratitude for what he had done for them, they were emotional, saying how much their fathers had influenced them. He saw that some people even became.
“He always sent us out. [to school] Say “Raider the castle and have fun.”
Matt Houlihan is grateful for the extra carpool he has with his dad, especially now that he's a parent to two girls.
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“When you're a parent, it's always important to take your kids to school or to sporting events. [moments] A lot of things came out of the conversations we had on car drives. Because when you're a child, you sometimes take for granted that you can spend time with your parents. ”
Tim Houlihan drove his car in retirement, with his children by his side, just as he did when he was younger. (Matt Houlihan)
Tim Houlihan may no longer use “The Princess Bride'' quotes with his children, but his youngest son, Matt, is passing on the tradition to his young daughters.
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“I always walk my kids to school and say, 'Have fun and raid castles.' [the tradition is] We carried it,” Matt Houlihan said.
