“We only wish Dad was here to see it”: Kylie Gillies' heartfelt gift for her mum
Kylie Gillies has shared a heartwarming video to her social media of the moment her mother received a very special gift from the family.
As Kylie explained in her caption, where she paid tribute to the love her parents had shared over the course of their 57 year marriage, the story behind the gift was near as dear to them all as the present itself.
In the clip, Kylie’s mother - Marg - can be seen sitting at a table in a luxurious jewellery store, with a box in front of her. She opens it to reveal a ring, and immediately turns to the camera, overwhelmed.
“A story 50 years in the making,” Kylie wrote. “In the 1970’s my Dad gifted Mum a sapphire. A loose stone - from Inverell. It remain[ed] wrapped in a little brown envelope in Mum’s drawer for decades.
“I recently asked her why? She said ‘well we’re not the sort of people to get jewellery made. And there were always other priorities I guess.’
“I’m sure those other priorities were my sister and me. All those things that young girls need. And want! And Mum and Dad never put themselves first.
“So with Dad’s recent passing our thoughts turned to that sapphire. Mum said Dad had always loved them and actually wanted Mum to have a sapphire engagement ring. That was 1963!
We thought it was time to do something.”
She started to wrap up her caption by thanking the House of K’dor for “turning that little stone into something big for our family”, and for the love that had gone into designing the meaningful gift, telling them “you were as excited as she was.”
“We only wish Dad was here to see it too,” she said, in what was surely a sentiment echoed by the entire family, who Kylie gave individual mention to after declaring, “we love you Mum.”
Kylie’s father - and Marg’s husband - passed away in 2021 at the age of 91. At the time, the TV host wrote that he was “a much-loved husband to my mum” and that he “looked after us all for so long.”
Her friends and fans’ hearts were warmed by the significance of the gift for the family, and took to Kylie’s comments section to let her know.
“Just perfect,” wrote her The Morning Show co-host Larry Edmur.
“So precious,” agreed Melissa Doyle, with Natalie Barr contributing a single teary-eyed emoji.
“This story made me tear up,” shared one follower, “I'm sure your dad was watching from above elated knowing his wish came true 50 years later.”
And in addressing two of her friends, one fan wrote, “this is what we were talking about, the past generations sacrificing and prioritising a need and want.”
“Oh I love this … I have a very similar story,” said another. “I received a beautiful sapphire from my aunt and uncle when I was 18. They found it while prospecting in the ‘60s. My uncle cut and polished it all by himself. They never had children of their own so held onto it until I was old enough to appreciate it. I still have it wrapped in a tissue in my jewellery box just waiting for me to do something with it.”
“Thank you for entrusting Tarick and I with something so precious,” said Zena, one of the two who had worked on the ring. “It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege to work on this creation with you for your beautiful mother Margaret. It’s moments like this I pinch myself with just how lucky I am to be able to do what I do, seeing your mothers face light up brought me so much joy.”
Images: Instagram