In humorous video, dad shares downsides of kid’s visit

CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine – Clothes all over the house, milk left out of the fridge, loud gatherings with friends. These are some of a Maine dad’s complaints about his college daughter being home for Christmas.

Dan Howard, of Cape Elizabeth, posted a humorous two-minute video on Facebook in which he describes scenes that are likely familiar to any parent with a child home from college. It has more than 900,000 views after Howard’s daughter, Shannon, shared it on the Facebook page of High Point University, where she goes to school.

“It took off from there. She knows it’s good natured,” Howard said.

Howard has three children; Shannon is his second in college. He says he was inspired to create the video after tripping over one of Shannon’s suitcases that she’d left in the living room for days after arriving home. Howard retreated upstairs, where his family thought he was working. But he was actually recording the video.

“We call it Hurricane Shannon when she comes home,” he said.

Howard’s video describes what each day is like with a student home from college. On Day One, he explains, he has to carry a heavy, broken suitcase through the airport. Day Two, he says, is when Shannon has her friends over for late-night baking — which they don’t clean up.

“They left everything out. Next morning I woke up and even the milk was out, it was sour,” he says. “Those rascals, they’re such nice kids. So good having them.”

By Day Five, when Howard records the video, he describes trying to find ways to get his daughter back to college.

“I’ve called the airlines, bus terminals, trains,” he says as the video ends. “There’s no way to get her back to college. Do you think Uber?”