My parents spent 25 years celebrating me. For their 30th anniversary, I finally got to celebrate them.

The author's parents have been married for 30 years.

Courtesy of the author My parents met as teenagers and celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this year.

My twin brother and I surprised them with more than 40 friends and relatives.

Planning the party reminded me that my parents have a story beyond raising us.

My parents met in May 1986, when they were just 14 and 15 years old, and started dating in September that same year.

Just a month later, my mom turned 15.

She can't remember exactly what their first date was.

Maybe a movie, she says, or something simple, like hanging out with friends.

But when she first saw my dad — a quiet yet funny guy — playing catch with his best friend while she babysat across the street, neither of them could have known what kind of journey they were about to take together.

They were married in June 1996, at Alex & Henry's, a then-popular catering hall that closed a few years later.

This year, the day before their official 30th anniversary , my twin brother and I pulled off what I'd argue was one of the best surprises of our adult lives: a party with more than 40 of their closest friends and family members.

They deserved to be celebrated My grandma traveled from Delaware to our hometown in Westchester County to help bring the surprise together.

For months, she fielded my frantic calls about table arrangements, centerpieces, and cake flavors, while I dodged my parents at home.

Trying to surprise the people you live with is no small feat.