In honor of their father's retirement, A.J A group of siblings Team up to plan a surprise that reminds us of some of their fond childhood memories.
Matt Houlihan, of San Jose, Calif., came up with the idea to celebrate his father who worked for 41 years at St. Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., the same school he, his brother and sister attended.
He said a TikTok trend inspired Matt Houlihan to do something special for his dad, with a special Houlihan family touch.
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“I was scrolling through TikTok a week ago, and I saw a video of a bunch of grandkids showing up and Surprise their grandparents To sleep. This turned things around for me, and my father's retirement was about to happen. 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 they surprised their father, Tim Houlihan (left), with one last carpool on his last day of work as a teacher at the school. (Matt Houlihan)
Matt Houlihan's idea required his two older brothers, Brian Houlihan and Kelsey Houlihan, to wake up early with him and come to the house. Their parents' house. The idea was for them to take one last car with their father, as they did when they were children.
The three siblings decided to do their best by looking at some of the “rituals” they had developed throughout those years while traveling to school in the car with their father.
“For about eight years, my dad drove all of us to high school,” Matt Houlihan said.
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“And in that time, you've obviously developed some routines and rituals.”
Matt Houlihan thought about all the time he spent in the car with his brothers and dad and thought it would be a great idea to pay tribute to those memories. (Matt Houlihan)
After working out the logistics of the surprise, like figuring out how their children would get to school, the siblings finally worked with their mother, Stephanie Houlihan, to make the surprise a success.
The Houlihan children showed up at their family home at 6 a.m. and met their father with their backpacks, ready for a trip full of memories.
They made a playlist, including songs they'd been listening to with their dad during this Carpool to school When they were younger, the No. 1 song was Outkast's “Hey Ya,” which was No. 1 on the Billboard charts in the early 2000s.
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“At one point, my dad had a CD that was Outkast's 'Hey Ya' on repeat. So, literally, 21 songs from Outkast's 'Hey Ya' were burned onto a CD, and we listened to them, I think,” Matt said. Houlihan: “Maybe six months, that's the only thing we listened to in the car.”
“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 and parking in the same parking spot they had throughout high school.
When the three children were in school, Tim Houlihan would send them into class by reading a quote from him classic movie, “The Princess Bride.”
“He would always send us off saying, 'Have fun storming the castle,'” Matt Houlihan said, adding that he and his brothers repeated that before their father entered his last day on the job.
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Tim Houlihan spent 41 years at St. Francis High School in various roles, starting as a math teacher and bus driver and moving to positions such as the football team office coordinator and athletic director.
Tim Houlihan retired after 41 years at St. Francis High School and found himself wearing all kinds of hats and taking on different roles throughout 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 were actually able to walk through the final building that he had just completed, which was very cool to see the final kind of crown jewel piece of the campus that he coordinated and helped build,” Matt Houlihan said.
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“And of course, then (we have to) see all the people come and Saying congratulations to him And seeing all his relationships in action like we used to when we were (students) there.”
The Houlihan siblings captured a video of their father's last day at school and shared it on TikTok. (Matt Houlihan)
Matt Houlihan said he and his brother and sister loved it celebrating their father, Someone they always thought of as a “servant leader.”
“He always wants to help everyone around him,” he said, adding that his father would appreciate his colleagues every year by bringing plates of food to school security guards who were working the night shift on holidays.
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He always looked up to his parents for the way they took care of others. He saw this in the response of those who said goodbye to his father on his last day at school by showing their appreciation for everything he had done, some even getting emotional saying how much he had affected them.
“He would always send us (to school) saying, 'Have fun storming the castle.'
Matt Houlihan now treasures those special trips with his dad, especially now that he's a parent Two little girls.
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“Being a parent and taking your kids to school or taking them to sporting events, you know, those are always (the moments) where a lot of those conversations come out in driving the car, because sometimes, as kids, you take it for granted that you can spend that time with “Your parents.”
Tim Houlihan drove into retirement with his kids 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 the tradition on to his young daughters.
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“I always tell them, 'Have fun storming the castle,' and then I drive them to school, so (the tradition) can be done,” Matt Houlihan said.
