Most parents take a quick photo of their kid’ s first day of school each year. It’s a great way to capture how much they’ve grown from year to year, plus in a few years time you’ll have a whole collection of memories to give you a good cry when graduation comes.
But one dad did things a little differently. Instead of a photo, he celebrated each of his daughter’s first days of school with a short record interview.
Now, she’s a senior, and this tradition has come to an end.
In a truly bittersweet video shared to his TikTok, dad Ray Petelin did a quick mash-up of all the interviews with his daughter Elizabeth, spanning from kindergarten to 12th grade.
In only a few short moments, see Elizabeth go from sweet little girl into a young woman. So much change in so little time. Including her career aspirations, which went from doctor, teacher, magician, waitress, baker and open heart surgeon before finally arriving at physical therapist.
But some things remained the same as well, including Petelin reminding his daughter that “mommy and daddy love you.”
The clip ends with present-day Elizabeth asking her dad “are you gonna cry?”
“No,” Petelin replies, saying once again, “I love you.”
Cut to kindergarten Elizabeth once more, saying in her once teeny tiny voice:
“I love you too. Is the school bus here now?”
Ugh! The heartstrings being pulled!
Petelin would later admit that he did, in fact, cry. But after this video, he certainly wasn't the only one.
“Man, if this doesn't make you tear up a bit!”
“We’re all crying, Elizabeth.”
“ Have a 7-month old daughter at home and already hitting me in the feels.”
“I’m not a dad but totally shed a tear there, what a fantastic tradition….You should be so proud, thinking of the journey and what’s ahead for her must be emotional for a father.
“The switch from using ‘mommy’ to ‘mom hit so hard 😭😭😭”
“Why yes Elizabeth, he is going to cry, In fact, we are all crying.”
Quite a few folks shared how inspired they were to do their own version of Petelin’s idea.
“This is so perfect, a wonderful ideaI I will keep for my future kids,” one person said.
Another added, “Just in time! My kiddo starts K next week. Thanks for the idea!”
Another person, and fellow dad, wrote, “This is awesome and makes me totally want to do this for my daughter. She’s starting a daycare in a couple weeks. Should I start with that?”
Petelin himself wrote that he “highly recommended” that parents try it out, and “the earlier the better.”
He also had this nugget of insight:
“It’s sad to see them grow up, but exciting to see who they become.”
If you’ve been looking for a sign to celebrate this short sweet life by recording small moments, here it is. Side effects might include sadness, but also profound joy.
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