Meeting up with a new parent now causes a similar reaction to one I have when looking at my high school yearbook photo. I recognize myself, but I can’t quite believe that it was really me. New parents force me to ask, “Was I that neurotic? Could I really discuss breastfeeding for hours on end? Did I truly get panicky if my child ate a grape with skin left on?” Of course, I was truly that neurotic and while I find it easy to sympathize with dilemmas of new parents, it doesn’t mean I want to relive experience.

While I am no Einstein, I have come up with another equation to explain a different reality of parenting. It can be summed up as PT=S4 or Parenthood multiplied by Time = lots of Stuff.

Before I had children, I could have been mistaken for a minimalist. When I was 18, I traveled around Europe for months with my entire life contained within my backpack. At 22, I moved across globe to start a new job with a small suitcase of clothes in one hand, and a bag of my favorite books in other. At 25, my husband and I moved entire contents of our one-bedroom apartment to our new duplex using only our beat-up Toyota Corolla.

Then my son was born. Before I knew it, I had accumulated more stuff than I had ever thought possible. There was cradle, crib, changing table, diaper bin, mobiles, books, toys, clothes, blankets, sheets, coats, shoes, boots, strollers, car seats, high chairs, booster seats, medications, swings, jumpy seats, and activity centers. And, that is short list.

Recently, I gave what was left of my early baby gear to my cousin; it took two trips with our minivan just to get it all over to her house. This of course made just enough room in our house for our next round of gear: bikes, in-line skates, soccer balls, bats, rackets, dolls, skis, games, inflatable toys, nets, etc. Clearly, only place for minimalism in my life now is my mind.

Clearly, math and science can go a long way in clarifying workings of universe, but perhaps mysteries of parenthood are beyond their domain. In end, parenthood will always defy logic and can only be explained with four little letters: L-O-V-E.

Preheat oven to 250 F.

Butter a baking sheet and sift confectioner's sugar over it. Arrange marshmallows into 12 vaguely triangular shapes to form ghosts, about 8-9 marshmallows per ghost. Bake until they melt, about 5 minutes. Do not let them brown.

Insert 2 cloves for eyes into top marshmallows of each triangle. Let ghosts cool completely on tray before removing them with a spatula. Combine remaining ingredients in a large pot and place it over medium heat until mixture is warm to touch. Do not let it come to a boil.

Let brew stand for at least 2 hours. Transfer to a punch bowl and float ghosts on top. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Note:

The brew can also be served hot, but ghosts will soon vanish into warm liquid.

Makes 3 quarts

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