Couple wait 9 years to open wedding present

A couple in Michigan waited nine years to open one of their wedding gifts, and what they found taught them a profound lesson about marriage and living together.

Kathy Gunn, who shared the story on Facebook, and her husband Brandon, were instructed by a relative known as Aunt Allison, not to unwrap the present until their first disagreement. Aunt Allison wrote this instruction on the box.

When they eventually opened the gift, they found two hand-written notes wrapped around money. One of the notes was for Kathy, instructing her to use the money to buy pizza, then get a bath running.

The other note was directed to Brandon, asking him to use the money in the box to buy flowers and wine.

It appears then, that the box not only provided them with all the tools for a great date night, but it also taught them an important marriage lesson.

Narrating what this gift taught them on Facebook, Kathie Gunn wrote:

“On our wedding day, my husband Brandon and I received a gift from my Great Aunt Alison. On the plain white box was a card that read, ‘Do not open until your 1st disagreement.’

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“Now, there had obviously been plenty of disagreements, arguments and slammed doors throughout our 9 years. There were even a couple of instances where we both considered giving up… but we never opened the box.

“I honestly think that we both avoided turning to the box, because it would have symbolized our failure.

"To us, it would have meant that we didn’t have what it takes to make our marriage work – and we’re both too stubborn and determined for that.

“So, it forced us to reassess situations. Was it really time to open the box? What if this isn’t our worst fight? What if there’s a worse one ahead of us and we don’t have our box?!? As my Great Uncle Bill would say, 'Nothing is ever so bad that it couldn’t get worse.'

“All along, we assumed that the contents of that box held the key to saving a marriage – an age old trick – unbeknownst to us rookies. After all, my Great Aunt and Uncle had been married for nearly half a century.

“So, we thought the box would save “us” – and in a way it did. That box went beyond what I believe my Great Aunt had intended. It was by far the greatest wedding gift of all.

“For 9 years (and three moves) that box sat high on a shelf in various closets gathering dust, yet it somehow taught us about tolerance, understanding, compromise and patience.

“Our marriage strengthened as we became best friends, partners, and teammates. Today, we decided to open that box, because I finally had a realization. I realized that the tools for creating and maintaining a strong, healthy marriage were never within that box – they were within us."

What a lesson well learnt!