I feel like an adult when I prepare. After becoming a mom I learned that a successful day is often just good preparation. Keep your bag stocked with all of baby’s and your needs. Buy things like Baby Motrin before baby ever gets a fever. Don’t wait to run out of diapers to replenish. Charge your phone. Plan meals in advance. Always carry cash.

But sometimes the inclination to prepare can get out of hand.

The other night a thought crossed my mind: “Maybe I should buy some bottled water?” This quickly turned into, “We definitely need bottled water for guests or just for convenience,” which turned into “shouldn’t we have emergency supplies like water in the house?” This became “oh my god we live in California and we don’t even have an earthquake kit?!” Next I’m researching non-perishable foods, flashlights, those crinkly foil blankets, and emergency baby supplies. But then I slipped into thinking about a true disaster, like in the movies. We would need cash, things to barter (gold? should I buy gold?), tactical backpacks—not normal backpacks—tactical ones, supplies we can carry, hiking shoes, weatherproof clothing  sleeping bags, and maybe a tent. And since I’m now envisioning some post-apocalyptic survival scenario, we might need a weapon. A gun? Two guns. Whoa whoa that seems crazy. Maybe a knife? Yea. A knife. Maybe a gun.

Pretty sure this is how we would look.

I still need that water. Here’s a great list of the recommended emergency supplies for your home.