1. Snacks

 
2. Clothes for all seasons. If you leave your house on a hot, summer day wearing shorts and tank tops, you might not get out of Emerge before the first snow fall. Layers are key.

 
3. Snacks.

 
4. Water and money for more water. Ignore the other vending machines that only sell foods that will put you in a hospital. There are no healthy options, not anywhere, not ever.

 
5. A fully charged cell phone. This might be the most important piece of preparation. Second only to the second set of snacks. This is your only contact with the outside world. This is your lifeline. Have the kids and spouse you left behind send you pictures of things like your apple tree and people smiling. You will feel like you are in a prison cell receiving letters on Sunday. It’s gold.

 
6. Snacks.

 
7. Games—better games than a pen and a piece of paper covered with cat’s games of X’s and O’s

 
8. Bring your most patient kid. If your other kid(s) are injured, ask yourself if it’s really worth it. Make sure your calmest most adaptable child is the guinea pig for your first emergency room experience.

 
9. Diapers. Even if your kids haven’t worn diapers for years, bring diapers for everyone sitting around you who might run out because they had no idea they would be in the waiting room for two weeks.

 
10. Avoid reading magazines with pictures of green pastures and sunsets because you may never see either again.