Two adventure‑seekers born 27 days apart, on opposite sides of the world. We didn’t know it yet, but the universe was already storyboarding the moment a fun‑loving, netball‑playing girl from Melbourne would meet a curious, band‑playing boy from Oklahoma.

Cut to 2002. Deb says yes to a summer work adventure in Michigan. Neal happens to be there as a desperately single engineer. The meet‑cute is still debated (Deb: playing an ultimate frisbee game. Neal: “not how I remember it.”) But we both agree on the headline: sushi was involved on date one.

Then came four years of long‑distance romancing: flights, time zones, long-distance calling cards, stubborn optimism, and Olympic‑level logistics. Without ever living on the same continent, Neal popped the question—and just like that, the “us” era began. In 2006 we made it official with a non-denominational wedding in Melbourne and (because we’re extra like that) an Indian wedding in Oklahoma. What came next? Two years in Switzerland, nine in Michigan, and the last ten in New York City (with a sprinkling of Philadelphia, St Louis, and Charlotte) – our travel planning, optimism and logisticating are now well developed skills in the Shorg household!

Along the way, we built lives, separately and together, that we still can’t believe we get to live: great careers, travels big and small, and a calendar that always has room for family, friends, food, music, the arts, and one more adventure (we’ll try almost anything once).

Our favorite part of our story are our incredible family and friends who’ve been in the frame since chapter one: from Melbourne to Oklahoma and everywhere in between.

So here we are: 50 years young, and 20 years married—the big 120. There’s only one way we want to celebrate: with the people we love, in the city we call home.

With love—and a little sparkle.