In honor of their dad’s retirement, a gaggle of siblings teamed as much as plan a shock paying homage to a few of their most treasured childhood recollections.
Matt Houlihan, from San Jose, California, got here up with an concept to rejoice his dad working 41 years at Saint Francis Excessive Faculty in Mountain View, California, the identical college he, his brother and sister attended.
A TikTok development impressed Matt Houlihan to do one thing particular for his dad, with a particular Houlihan household twist, he mentioned.
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“I used to be scrolling TikTok every week earlier than, [and] I noticed a video on a gaggle of grandkids exhibiting up and stunning their grandparents for a sleepover. That sort of acquired the wheels turning for me, and my dad’s retirement was developing. And I needed to do one thing particular for him,” Matt Houlihan informed Fox Information Digital.
Matt Houlihan’s concept required his two older siblings, Brian Houlihan and Kelsey Houlihan, to get up early with him and present as much as their mother and father’ dwelling. The concept was to take one closing carpool with their dad, like they did once they have been children.Â
The three siblings determined to go all out by trying again at among the “rituals” they developed all these years touring to highschool within the automotive with their dad.
“For about eight years, my dad was driving all of us as much as highschool,” Matt Houlihan shared.
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“And, in that point, clearly, you sort of developed some routines and rituals.”
After figuring out the logistics for the shock, like determining how their very own children would get to highschool, the siblings lastly labored along with their mother, Stephanie Houlihan, to make the shock a hit.
The Houlihan youngsters confirmed as much as their household dwelling at 6 a.m. and met their dad with their backpacks, able to make a visit full of recollections.
They made a playlist, together with the songs they’d hearken to with their dad whereas carpooling to highschool once they have been youthful, the No. 1 music being “Hey Ya” by Outkast, which was a No.1 hit on the Billboard charts within the early 2000s.
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“At one level, my dad had a CD that was simply Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya’ on repeat. So, actually, it was 21 Outkast ‘Hey Ya’ songs burned onto a CD, and we listened for, like, I believe, for most likely six months. That is the one factor we listened to within the automotive,” Matt Houlihan mentioned.
“He all the time simply desires to assist everybody who’s round him.”
The subsequent household cease was their favourite bagel store, Home of Bagels, earlier than heading to highschool and pulling into the identical parking spot that they had all through highschool.
When the three children have been in class, Tim Houlihan would ship them off to class by reciting a quote from the basic movie, “The Princess Bride.”
“He would all the time ship us off by saying, ‘Have enjoyable storming the citadel,’” Matt Houlihan mentioned, including that he and his siblings repeated it earlier than their dad walked into his closing day of labor.
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Tim Houlihan spent 41 years at Saint Francis Excessive Faculty in numerous roles, beginning as a math instructor and bus driver and shifting by way of positions resembling workplace coordinator for the soccer workforce and athletic director.
He served as dean of scholars and the gold coach earlier than lastly settling into the position of development administration for brand spanking new initiatives on the college’s campus.
“We really acquired to stroll by way of the final constructing that he simply accomplished, which was tremendous cool simply to see the ultimate sort of crown jewel piece of the campus that he coordinated and helped construct,” Matt Houlihan mentioned.
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“And, clearly, then [we] simply acquired to see all of the folks developing and saying congratulations to him and seeing all of his at-work relationships like we used to after we have been [students] there.”
Matt Houlihan mentioned he and his brother and sister liked celebrating their dad, somebody who they all the time considered a “servant chief.”
“He all the time simply desires to assist everybody who’s round him,” he mentioned, including that his dad would recognize his colleagues annually by bringing plates of meals to the college safety guards who have been working the night time shift on holidays.
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He has all the time regarded as much as each of his mother and father for the best way they look after others. And he noticed that within the response of these on the college who mentioned their farewells to his dad on his final day by exhibiting their appreciation for all he did, some even getting emotional saying how a lot he affected them.
“He would all the time ship us off [to school] by saying, ‘Have enjoyable storming the citadel.'”
Matt Houlihan is now appreciating these particular carpools along with his father, particularly now that he’s a dad or mum to 2 little ladies.
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“Being a dad or mum and attending to take your children to highschool or taking them to sporting occasions, you recognize, these are all the time the [moments] the place a lot got here out of these conversations in these automotive drives as a result of, as children, generally you are taking it with no consideration that you possibly can spend that point along with your mother and father.”
Whereas Tim Houlihan might now not use “The Princess Bride” quote along with his children, his youngest son Matt is passing that custom onto his little ladies.
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“I all the time inform them, ‘Have enjoyable storming the citadel,’ after which I drop them off in school, in order that [the tradition is] carried,” Matt Houlihan mentioned.