Anna’s Story
My Loving Grandparents
“You don’t need a lot of ingredients to make good food tasty, you just need seasonal fresh food and a few things in the pantry to make the basics”
and I still live by these wise words.
My grandparents belonged to a generation where you made do with whatever you had, which often wasn’t much. The backyard was like a magical world, where my grandfather grew seasonal fruits and vegetables each year, just as generations before him had done. Together, we would harvest these crops and bring them to my grandmother, who turned them into delicious family feasts. I was always in awe of her, standing by her side in the kitchen as she transformed simple pantry staples and fresh garden vegetables into hearty meals for the family. Sometimes, even the chicken came from the backyard. I learned to pluck one myself once—that’s a story in itself!
My Grandmother making past with my Great-Grandmother, Grandfather and Mum
These memories aren’t just vivid in my mind—they’re etched in my soul, grounding me in my Italian heritage. From childhood through my teens and well into adulthood, my grandmother was more than my Nonna; she was my guide, my teacher, my closest friend. Everything I know about cooking, I learned from her—the passion, the love for family, the joy of sharing with others. I always wanted to be just like her, and I’ll forever be grateful for everything she taught me, right up to her last breath.
For me, food has always been deeply tied to emotion. It’s woven with love, joy, contentment, and even sadness and grief throughout my life. I think that’s something universal—we all connect food to memories and feelings.
My grandmother nourished her family with love, and that spirit was passed on not just to me, but to others in our family. Both my mother’s and father’s sides shared a similar reverence for food. In turn, I’ve carried this “traditional love” forward to my own family.
My Wonderful Husband Rodney
The mindset was simple: the more we cooked at home, the more love we were sharing. It felt wonderful, but we didn’t realize that the abundance of food and lack of moderation was actually doing us harm. Self-control wasn’t something we’d been taught, and that became a challenge from childhood into adulthood—until I finally decided it was time to make a change.
There were several “attempts” along the way to make healthier choices and reduce portions, but nothing ever lasted. Food was simply too enjoyable, and my taste buds were firmly in control.
As I got older, I fell in love with baking, and that only led to more indulgence. Weekends were dedicated to perfecting cakes, cookies, and sweets. My sister and I loved the challenge of baking something amazing to impress our mum, and the better we got, the more my weight crept up. It didn’t help that she had no weight issues! But the joy of baking together, with the delicious smells filling the kitchen, meant more to me at the time than my health.
My first serious effort at losing weight came when my then-boyfriend (Rodney) proposed. I wanted to look my best for our wedding, so we both joined Weight Watchers, following the program together and losing kilos within a few months.
Married life was blissful, though, and filled with rich meals to impress my new husband. Before long, the kilos returned.
My Amazing Sister Christina
During this time, my only sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer, shifting my focus entirely. Food became a comfort for us, and we indulged in it freely. We were the best of friends, not just sisters, and we’d always been there for each other. Family is everything to me, and the best years of my life were spent with her.
Her battle lasted six long years, filled with excruciating challenges and moments of hope that were quickly overshadowed by setbacks as the cancer returned more aggressively each time. Watching her fight for her life was heartbreaking, and often, I felt helpless and overwhelmed by sadness. One of our shared wishes was for her to become an aunt one day, but she passed away before that could happen, at just 24. My world was shattered.
In the weeks following her passing, I faced the hardest days of my life. I honestly didn’t know how I would cope. But to this day, I believe she sent me a precious gift that I hold close to my heart. She passed on January 19, 2001, and just two months later, as Easter approached—our first holiday without her—I discovered I was pregnant. It was a bittersweet revelation, filled with both joy and grief. Our wish had finally come true, but she wasn’t there to share in it. This news brought comfort to me and my family, helping us navigate the early days of grief and honoring her memory in a way that felt like her final blessing.
Ethan and I at 9 months old
The Gift of Life – Our Ethan
Ethan was born that same year, just before Christmas—a first holiday without my sister. Yet, the focus shifted to the gift of this tiny life, which helped heal the hole in our hearts, if only a little.
As the years went by, I stayed home to raise Ethan, showing him all the love I could, nurturing him in every way and, as tradition would have it, through food without limits. By this point, I had grown so heavy that I struggled to take him to the park or play on the floor—I couldn’t even get back up easily. Still, I was largely unaware of how much this was affecting my life. During his primary school years, we all gradually gained weight as a family, never quite noticing the problem.
Looking back, I see now that comfort eating was my way of filling the void left by my sister’s absence. We talked about her often, cried often, laughed often, and ate even more. But it was essential to me that Ethan knew who she was. As he grew, I made sure he knew her story and felt her presence in our lives, a sentiment shared by our entire family.
The reality hit when Ethan was around ten. He began facing issues with his weight at school, enduring ridicule and teasing for being, as I would gently call it, “chubby.” It wasn’t until later that we learned just how much bullying he had endured. But my real wake-up call came one afternoon at Ethan’s school.
“The day I will never forget, the day that Changed our lives …”
Ethan Aged: 10