Siblings from California surprise father with a nostalgic last car ride to work before he retires
In honor of her father’s retirement a Group of siblings have come together to plan a surprise that will commemorate some of their most treasured childhood memories.
Matt Houlihan of San Jose, California, came up with the idea to celebrate his father, who has worked for 41 years at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, California, the same school he, his brother and sister attended.
A TikTok trend inspired Matt Houlihan to do something special for his father, with a special Houlihan family touch, he said.
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“I was scrolling on TikTok a week before and saw a video where a group of grandchildren appeared and surprise their grandparents for an overnight stay. That kind of got me going, and my dad’s retirement was just around the corner. And I wanted to do something special for him,” Matt Houlihan told Fox News Digital.
Matthew Houlihan (right) teamed up with siblings Kelsey Houlihan (center) and Brian Houlihan (back right) and surprised their father, Tim Houlihan (left), with one last carpool on his last day as a school teacher. (Matt Houlihan)
Matt Houlihan’s idea required his two older siblings, Brian Houlihan and Kelsey Houlihan, to get up early with him and come to him her parents’ house. The idea was to have one last carpool with her father, like they did as children.
The three siblings decided to do their best by looking back at some of the “rituals” they had developed over the years riding to school in the car with their father.
“For about eight years, my dad drove us all to high school,” Matt Houlihan said.
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“And during that time you’ve obviously developed some routines and rituals.”
Matt Houlihan thought about the time he spent in the car with his siblings and father and thought it would be a great idea to pay homage to those memories. (Matt Houlihan)
After sorting out the logistics of the surprise, such as figuring out how their own children would get to school, the siblings ultimately worked with their mother, Stephanie Houlihan, to make the surprise a success.
The Houlihan children arrived at their family’s home at 6 a.m. and met their father with their backpacks, ready for a trip full of memories.
They made a playlist of the songs they listened to while they were with their dad Carpool to school When they were younger, the No. 1 song was “Hey Ya” by Outkast, which was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts in the early 2000s.
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“At one point my dad had a CD that just had ‘Hey Ya’ by Outkast on repeat. Literally there were 21 Outkast ‘Hey Ya’ songs burned onto a CD and we listened to each other for, I think, that long.” “Probably six months. That’s the only thing we heard in the car,” Matt Houlihan said.
“He always just wants to help everyone around him.”
The family’s next stop was their favorite bagel shop, House of Bagels, before heading to school, stopping in the same parking lot they had throughout high school.
When the three children were in school, Tim Houlihan sent them to class by reciting a quote from the classic film, “The Princess Bride.”
“He always sent us off saying, ‘Have fun storming the castle,'” Matt Houlihan said, adding that he and his siblings repeated that before their father left for his last day of work.
Tim Houlihan spent 41 years at Saint Francis High School in roles ranging from math teacher and bus driver to positions such as football team office coordinator and athletic director.
Tim Houlihan retired after 41 years at Saint Francis High School, noting that he wore all sorts of hats and took on different roles throughout his time at the school. (Matt Houlihan)
He served as dean of students and gold coach before eventually taking on the role of construction manager for new projects on the school campus.
“We actually got to walk through the final building that he just completed, which was super cool, just to see the final crown jewel of the campus that he coordinated and helped build,” Matt Houlihan said.
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“And of course then we could just see all the people that came in and congratulate him and seeing all of his relationships at work, like we used to do when we (students) were there.”
The Houlihan siblings recorded the video of their father’s last day of school and shared it on TikTok. (Matt Houlihan)
Matt Houlihan said he and his brother and sister loved him celebrate their father, someone they always viewed as a “servant leader.”
“He always just wants to help everyone around him,” he said, adding that his father would thank his colleagues for bringing plates of food every year to the school’s security guards who worked the night shift on holidays .
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He always looked up to both of his parents for caring for others. And he saw that in the reaction of those at school who said goodbye to his father on his last day, expressing their appreciation for everything he had done, with some even getting emotional and saying how much he loved them touched.
“He always sent us off with the words: ‘Have fun storming the castle.'”
Matt Houlihan now values those special rides with his dad, especially now that he’s a father himself two little girls.
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“Being a parent and being able to take your kids to school or to sporting events, you know, those are always the (moments) where so much came out of those conversations on those car rides, because sometimes as kids you just accept that,” of course “That you were able to spend this time with your parents.”
Tim Houlihan rode into retirement with children by his side, just like they did when they were younger. (Matt Houlihan)
While Tim Houlihan may no longer use the Princess Bride quote with his children, his youngest son Matt is passing on the tradition to his little girls.
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“I always tell them, ‘Have fun storming the castle,’ and then drop them off at school to keep (the tradition) going,” Matt Houlihan said.
