Couple waited 9 years to open special wedding gift from great aunt — the notes inside took them by surprise
A wedding is a special occasion and so are the gifts received. Many couples wait until their first anniversaries to open some gifts, or perhaps a piece of their wedding cake. Kathy and Brandon Gunn waited 9 years to open a gift from a great aunt, Allison, per ABC News. The woman had given them a box with the wedding gift inside and asked them to open it when they had a disagreement. Surely, they had their fair share of ups and downs throughout 9 years but only later were probed to open the gift. They were in awe of what was revealed.
The duo were married in September 2007. From the many gifts, nothing quite struck a chord like Allison’s gift. The note on the box read, “Do not open until 1st disagreement.” "We've obviously had tons of disagreements but didn't want to turn to the box because once you open it, you don't have it. And then what do you do?" Kathy remarked. Dr. Cheryl Fraser, therapist and psychologist, noted that disagreements among couples are inevitable and a profound part of relationship building. If these minor conflicts are “infrequent, brief and—despite raised voices and heated words—end up in a resolution where both of you feel loved and heard,” they can be considered healthy ones.
The couple had their tiffs, but never thought it was too serious to turn to the gift box. Moreover, for them, it became an exciting adventure. "My husband and I are both very competitive people. We love a challenge. The presentation itself was very unique and it's not the typical gift. We set it aside because it was special to us,” Kathy noted. When their great aunt asked whether they’d opened the box after two years of marriage, they refused. "She looked at us like we were crazy," Kathy remarked. Nevertheless, they kept up with their challenge and waited for the right opportunity.
Their wait and the suspense of the box, tied with their great aunt’s note, became instrumental in creating a strong relationship over the years. Despite their fights, not having to turn to the box because it was not “their worst” gave them a newfound trust and foundation with each other. After 9 years had passed, this realization struck the duo and they decided to open the box. "I felt if we haven't opened it yet, we've got everything we need to make this thing work," the woman said. Pondering the role of the gift during a disagreement, she mentioned, "When you're young and learning to be married and compromise and all of that, we often thought the contents of the box would reunite us."
However, time gave her another perspective. "I think the true story was working it out for ourselves, and there wasn't any gift that was going to reunite us. It was something that we were going to have to do ourselves,” she shared. But finally, the couple opened the box. Inside the box was a $200 cash gift. The amount was separated into two packages — one for Kathy and the other for Brandon. There were two different notes for each. Kathy's read, "Go get a pizza, shrimp or something you both like. Get a bath ready.” Brandon's read, "Brandon, go get flowers and a bottle of wine.”
The plan was ideally to give the two the coincidental idea of patching up after a supposed disagreement. The duo finally broke the news of having opened the gift. "She (Aunt Allison) thought it was amazing. She also thought it was a great story, but she thought we were crazy. She knew it was a special gift, but didn't realize just how special it became to us,” Kathy remarked.