Good things come to those who wait. Most people, however, wouldn't be able to wait a full nine years before opening a present. But Kathy and Brandon Gunn had a good reason for waiting nearly a decade to unpack a particular wedding gift. The gift, from the bride’s great aunt, came with a unique caveat: They couldn’t open it until their first disagreement.
The Gunns hadn't actually gone 10 years without a disagreement. They started inadvertently saving the gift in case they needed it for a much worse fight, believing the box could contain some secret to a happy marriage from Aunt Alison, who had been married for almost 50 years.
“It forced us to reassess situations,” Kathy wrote in a Facebook post about the mystery present. “Was it really time to open the box?” The presumed “failure” of opening the box prevented the couple from admitting defeat.
Instead, they finally decided to open it on an average night. While reflecting on the more monumental gifts they’d received, the couple decided that the unopened box was the gift that meant the most.
What was inside? On paper, nothing special: a few bath products, wine glasses, cash with instructions to "Go get a pizza, shrimp or something you both like." But the real gift was the lesson it had inadvertently taught them. Kathy explained, “The tools for creating and maintaining a strong, healthy marriage were never within that box — they were within us.” Read Kathy's full Facebook post below.
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