Mother Tahlia Gantcheff will be celebrating her first Mother’s Day this Sunday in the same fashion the family always does — together.
“I’m lucky to have such amazing family support because nothing can prepare you (for motherhood) ... but it’s so rewarding just seeing her smile,” Tahlia said.
Tahlia’s mother, Janet Gantcheff, agreed.
“The main thing is family and togetherness — my mother taught me my family values, and I’ve then passed on that importance,” she said.
“Just that real bond of family, it’s huge.”
The family often use food as a means of expression, in both a communication of love and caretaker capacity.
Nana Meli Yze’s traditional pie dish, lakror, is the undisputed centrepiece, and itself a touching part of the family’s rich Albanian heritage.
“My mother passed it down to me, I passed it down, and it’s gone down the line to Tahlia,” Meli said.
“And it’ll continue to be passed down for generations,” Tahlia said.
“It’s something that you do want to continue, too, because otherwise, if it isn’t, it would disappear, and making traditional food would disappear.
“It’s not something you’d find in a recipe book either — you ask for the ingredients and it’s like, a handful of this and about that, there are no measurements.”
For mother, daughter and every other family member, there’s more than recipes that are inherited.
Affectionate nicknames roll just as easily off the tongue as words of care, and are shared among the family like their beloved lakror.
It’s that kind of tradition that serves as the sinews that bind them together, but it’s undeniably the mothers that are the strong, beating hearts of the family’s unity.
“I read when you become a mother, your heart doesn’t divide, it multiplies. I totally agree with that,” Tahlia said.
“People say when you have multiple children, too, how do you have room to love more? It’s not that.
“Your heart doesn’t divide into pieces for each person, you just have so much more love to give.”
Janet called motherhood an “unconditional kind of love”.
As a new nana of three, this Mother’s Day marks a pivotal moment in her family’s growth, and the unequivocal strength in numbers.
“As a family, there’s been a few challenges,” Janet said.
“As soon as you become a mother, it makes you appreciate mother worrying for you.
“You realise no matter what, you are going to care for this child for the rest of your life.”
As Janet speaks, she exudes the same happiness and gratitude for family of her mother.
“You don’t think about that growing up but when you become a mum … it’s hard to explain,” she said.
Capri breaks the trains of thought with a “fake cough”, a new trick she’s picked up to turn the attention back to her.
Not that she needs it, her proud Nanny and Nana dote on the newest addition to the family, clicking their fingers to bring a big smile upon that small face.
As Capri continues to grow, there’ll undoubtedly be more of these touching moments.
And more lakror.
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