A former Michigan couple who received a wedding gift that instructed them not to open it until their “first disagreement” said they finally opened it 9 years later.
Kathy Gunn said in a post on the Love What Matters Facebook group that she and her husband, Brandon, received a gift at their Kalamazoo, Mich., wedding from Kathy’s Great Aunt Alison.
“On the plain white box was a card that read, ‘Do not open until your 1st disagreement.’ 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,” Gunn wrote.
According to upi.com Gunn said she and her husband put off opening the box despite their fights because they feared they might one day have a worse “disagreement” and be more in need of the mystery package’s contents.
“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.”
The box turned out to contain wine glasses and personal notes for Brandon and Kathy. Brandon’s note included cash and instructed him to purchase flowers and bottle of wine, while Kathy’s also contained cash and told her to buy “a pizza, shrimp or something you both like.” She was also instructed to “get a ‘bath’ ready.”